


A Dance Between Wind and Water

by moonqueerdom



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Andreil, Grinding, M/M, Merpeople, Metamorphosis, Nature Magic, Soft Neil Josten, a lot of nature too, andrew having actual conversations, blowjob, kerejean, kinda soft andrew minyard, neil being a little naive, neil being clueless, neil is also a cute baby, there's a cute and amazing fox, there's a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 54,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25252876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonqueerdom/pseuds/moonqueerdom
Summary: Since before time itself, the population of Thaekar was gifted by Nature so that one of the Elements was attributed to each person at their birth, which made their society be built on that basis.~Or, the one where Andrew finds Neil unconscious in a forest.
Relationships: Kevin Day/Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 15
Kudos: 136





	A Dance Between Wind and Water

**Author's Note:**

> I had this whole idea for the simple reason that I wanted to write Neil as a merman. I regretted it a few times during the writing process due to the fact that I have thalassaphobia and, therefore, that wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had in my life, but here we are with the final result
> 
> hope you like it and you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonqueerdom) and [tumblr](https://thewickeddevil.tumblr.com/) if you need to say anything (comments, observations or anything really) or you can [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/moon020310) if you want and help support me
> 
> trigger warnings: explicit violence, explicit mention of past physical violence, death, implied self harm, abusive parental relationship and a bit of explicit sexual activity (if you notice anything else, please let me know)
> 
> (ps: down here you can see a basic representation of how I imagined Thaekar's structure while writing. the drawing was made by [leh](https://twitter.com/lovereignspn?s=20))

There was a body. A person.

There was a person curled up on the ground and Andrew didn't know if they were alive or not.

Andrew was counting, and he had been there for ten minutes. The body hadn’t moved yet. Still, something insisted that he remain there, waiting, so he did. 

He sat cross-legged on the ground and spread his hands on the soil. It was warm and soft, so Andrew thought maybe it was a good place, and he could use the moments of silence while waiting to  _ connect _ a little. It had been a while since he last did this.

After a few more minutes of no agitation or manifestation of anything, Andrew remembered why he hated doing this. It was common for Earthy people to do this type of ritual throughout the day and especially when in some forest, as he was now. They do this in order to connect with their own element and obtain the strength necessary to keep the day going. Some people say that Nature is selective and only helps those who deserve it, but Andrew really thinks that is bullshit.

Well, not that he has enough time to develop a thought about it, because in the next second, the body lying on the ground startles and chokes.

He hadn't noticed anything about that person before, for the mere fact that he didn't want to recognize any details of a likely dead creature. But now they were alive, and Andrew allowed himself to curiously watch the curly and auburn hair. And the golden, scarred skin. Even the clumsy movement of that person's limbs.

They hadn't seen him yet, and Andrew knew it was best to introduce himself right away to avoid too much strangeness, but he didn't care enough so he just let the stranger take their time to figure things out.  But, well. Andrew's patience wasn't exactly great so he found himself annoyed at the inattention this person radiated. Why haven't they noticed Andrew yet? He didn't care, really. He was just an impatient person.

Andrew cleared his throat. 

The startle of the stranger was almost hilarious.

“Gonna say something?” Andrew asked. They looked at him with wide eyes and a face completely contorted in curiosity and something else. As if seeing a seven-headed creature. “Anything?”

The other one said nothing, so Andrew sighed  _ very deeply _ and decided to keep talking. Maybe if he cursed them enough, they would finally say something. Or maybe if he hit them...

“You know, this is starting to get stupid,” he said. Still nothing. “What’s your name?”

All the stranger did was look around, ignoring Andrew completely. This was ridiculous.  _ He _ was usually responsible for ignoring people, not the other way around.

“You wanna know what? Fuck you,” Andrew was already on his feet and dusting his pants to remove leaves and traces of soil. When he turned his back to leave, a cough that indicated a scratched throat made him stop in place.

“You're kinda rude, don't you think?”

_ The motherfucker… _

“No shit. I've been here for a long time having the decency to wait for you to wake up instead of leaving your body lying around for any hungry animal, so shut up. I have the right to be rude.”

Something about what Andrew said really did catch the stranger, and they went still. Andrew no longer cared about them, so he rolled his eyes and started walking again.

“Neil. My name is Neil.”

Once again the husky voice. It was strange. It looked like their throat had been dragged into small rocks or something.

“Which pronouns do you identify with,  _ Neil _ ?”

It took some time for them to assimilate the question, even though it was something entirely simple.

“You can use he/him,” Neil answered. “What about you?”

“Andrew. Same pronouns.”

“Okay,” he nodded, still looking completely weird and dumb. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“The fuck wouldn't I let you know?”

“Because it's a big deal,” Neil says, weakly. He looks around appraisingly, and then swallows. “At least it is, where I come from… What reminds me,  _ where the hell am I _ ? This place looks a lot drier and more unpleasant.”

Andrew was frowning so much that he was afraid it would hurt, but he couldn't keep up with anything that dude was saying.

“What are you talking about?”

Neil tilted his head and looked at him as if it were obvious, but when Andrew just looked at him with even more disbelief, he gave up and sighed.

“Okay, but at least tell me what happened to my body?” Neil asked.

Now Andrew was truly going mental. How is it possible for a guy to make less sense every time he opens his mouth to speak? I mean, Andrew has already seen some  _ really stupid people _ , but that Neil guy was the real definition of dumb.

“Are you joking with me or what?”

“Um… I’m not?”

“Well, then nothing you say makes sense,” Andrew approached him a little and waved a hand. “C’mon, get up.”

“Why?”

“Do you think I waited for you to wake up to leave you here? Get up, we need to go.”

“Go where?”

Andrew's hands flew to his face and he shook his head.

“The option of abandoning you in an empty forest is looking more tempting with each passing second.”

“I’m not asking you to stay, you know...” Neil said, and now the look Andrew sent him was fiercing.

Still, he stood there watching Neil with impatience and irritation. When no one did anything, Andrew raised an eyebrow that said "so I will leave you here". He hoped Neil had understood.

“Wait I—,” he said, the moment Andrew turned his back. “I can't get up.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Neil bit his lip and looked apprehensive, considering something in his mind that Andrew hated not knowing what it was.

“I mean that... I don't know how to do this.”

“You _don't know_ _how_ to do this?” Andrew repeated, like a stupid bird or something.

“Yeah.”

“Like you don’t know how to get on your fucking feet?”

“Yeah.”

Andrew was puzzled. No, that word was not enough. None was.

“If only I had enough time to discuss this shit,” he said, and moved to approach the side of Neil's body. “May I touch you?”

Neil seemed quite shocked by the question, and nodded still with a little surprise on his face, but he soon seemed to realize that Andrew would not be satisfied with non-verbal responses, so he cleared his throat.

“Yes, you can do this.”

Then Andrew put an arm around Neil's waist and struggled to lift him up. They battled a bit to stabilize on their feet but soon they were standing against a high rock.

It took Andrew just a look to almost throw Neil as far as he could.

“Why  _ the fuck _ are you naked?” He wasn’t shouting but the steady tone of his voice made it as serious as.

Andrew's face was burning with exasperation as he looked away, and Neil just looked down at his own body as if to verify what had been said.

“Am I what?” He looked confused as fuck. Pointing down on himself, he frowned. “What is this thing? This whole new anatomy already seemed strange before I saw it, and now even more... What is it for?”

“Are you serious? Like, do you ever stop being weird?” Andrew was outraged, and when a sigh and a negatively shaking head were Neil's only responses, he almost wanted to make the earth swallow him. “I'm not explaining to you what a  _ dick _ is. Feel free to ask someone else later.”

Neil hummed and nodded to signal that he understood. Andrew moved just enough to pull a long cloth out of his backpack. The fabric was wrapped in a few pieces of food, which were now rolling loose through the bag.

“Wrap this around your hips.”

Andrew tried to hold Neil and at the same time keep him as far away as possible while he did what was asked. Neil poked Andrew's biceps when he was done, and they walked in silence for way too long minutes. It was  _ really difficult _ , it looked like Neil had never walked in his life and he was supporting all his weight on the other body by his side, which was  _ terribly bad _ for the owner of said body. Andrew knew that any other Earthy would have already prayed for the help of Nature or made a partial metamorphosis to gain the strength of any animal that could help, but not him. It wouldn't work, anyway.

So they walked together disastrously until Neil —  _ finally _ — started to keep up with the pace of the walk and moved his legs in a sloppy way. Still, it took some time for Andrew to trust Neil's newly acquired skills enough to let him go completely.

~~~~~~

They were at the bottom of the stairs and, damn it, Andrew thought it had been difficult for Neil to walk but the real problem was climbing stairs. And that one had only four steps.

He still walked like a toddler — or worse — and threw limbs everywhere for balance, but at least he didn't need Andrew's help anymore. At least not completely. So Andrew was at the top of the stairs looking at Neil with pure boredom as he waited for him to finish his battle with the four steps.

When he finally did, he let out a tired breath.

“Congratulations you almost made me sleep right here.”

Neil looked up at him in disbelief. “Yeah, thanks for the help.”

Andrew noticed the irony seeping through every pore of that sentence, but he didn't care.

“Whenever you need,” he said, before realizing that Neil no longer cared for him, instead watching the place where they were. “I live here.”

And that would have to be enough for Neil to trust. Or at least not worrying enough to be a problem.

Andrew knocked on the dark wooden door fixed to the high stone wall. The exterior of the house was almost abhorrent, but fortunately the interior was worth it.

A woman with pale brown hair reaching to her chin appeared in the frame when the door was opened, holding a mug in one hand.

“What’s up, Betsy.” It barely was a question.

The woman's eyes narrowed on Neil and she watched him shamelessly from top to bottom, which made the boy shift uncomfortably. Maybe she realized that, due that she stopped at once and offered a smile instead — but Andrew knew better that she would come back to analyze him the moment Neil turned away.

“I thought we might have more time before you start bringing half-naked men home, Andrew. But apparently it’s never too soon.”

“Keep joking like that and see how far we've made progress with my patience, will you?”

Neil had felt the slight threatening tone in Andrew's voice, so he was completely surprised when Betsy just laughed at that. This time he was the one analyzing the woman in front of him. When he seemed to find whatever he was looking for, he cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, miss, could you tell me what a dick is?”

Betsy showed no reaction to the question other than her critical look in Andrew's direction.

“I can’t,” he said, finally giving up and passing by the woman to enter the house and get away from that situation.

Neil blinked, perhaps still waiting for an answer. _ If this guy is some kind of patience test, I'm clearly failing already _ , Andrew thought. He heard Betsy respond patiently something like "Maybe you should ask Abby, she explains things like that better than I do" and rolled his eyes.

“Where is everyone?” Andrew asked as Neil entered and absorbed all the details of the house with curiosity and strangeness.

“Upstairs,” Betsy answered.

He looked painfully at Neil and then at the stairs, completely absorbing every single bit of the sixteen steps.

“Bee, this is Neil, who I found passed out in the forest, and he acts like he doesn't know how to walk or do any other simple thing...”

“I really don’t know,” Neil pointed.

“...and I'm not exactly in the mood to watch him struggle for hours and embarrass himself while trying to climb these stairs, so if you allow me... May I touch you, Neil?”

“I already said yes.”

“Yeah, but now is another time so you have to answer again,” Andrew motioned for him to hurry.

“Then it's a yes again.”

“Great. And don’t touch me.”

Andrew ran one hand over Neil's back and the other over the back of his knees, casting one last warning look before lifting him into his arms. Neil was alert for the sudden change of position but was quick to relax when he realized he was firm and safe. As requested, Neil kept both hands wrapped around his chest and pushed all the other parts as far away from Andrew as he could — which was almost nothing, considering, you know, their current position.

“You are stronger than I thought, judging by your stature.”

“Don't make jokes while I'm holding you in my arms. I wouldn't hesitate to throw you through that door right now,” Andrew warned.

Neil shrugged and, surprisingly, fell silent. Betsy, behind them, smiled.

“You two have developed quite a peculiar friendship, huh?”

Andrew's look at her was deadly, but it didn't affect the woman in any way. Without another word, he started up the stairs while carrying Neil, who remained quiet. When they reached the top floor, Andrew released him without any warning and it was probably a miracle that Neil managed to stay upright, considering that he was not leaning on anything and already had the natural difficulty in using his legs.

When he stabilized, he shot Andrew a surprised look, and he shrugged back.

They walked to the end of the hall — well, Neil  _ staggered _ — to the last one of the eight orange wooden doors, where it was possible to hear the sound of voices speaking together. Andrew pushed the door open and was not surprised when no one went silent when they noticed his presence.

Naturally, things were different when Neil stumbled into the room. There were eleven people sitting around a table, talking energetically, but the silence immediately fell over them and it was incredibly intense. Andrew rolled his eyes at that.

“Neil, these are the idiots who live in this house. Idiots, this is another stupid one for you, his name is Neil.”

Wymack's face turned into a grimace for Andrew, but he didn't care.

“Are you always that eloquent?” Neil asked.

“Pretty much. Why? Do you like it?”

But he didn't have an answer back, because Nicky cut them off after looking Neil up and down.

“Hi, Neil. You're quite a sight, did you know that?”

Neil looked back at him.

“I dunno what that means.”

Nicky raised his eyebrows and looked speechless, but only for a few seconds, before he was smiling sideways and tilting his head a little.

“I mean that you’re very attractive and hot.”

A collective commotion overtook the room while everyone was talking over each other, and Neil frowned openly. Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Congratulations, ladies, gentlemen and fellow friends, this time he reached the full minute mark,” Allison said, her voice overflowing with irony.

“Disgusting, Nicky,” Aaron's face was turned into a grimace.

“Hemmick, you better stop scaring everyone who shows up here before my good mood is gone,” Wymack warns. Nicky's eyes widened so much that his surprise at the statement couldn't be anything other than obvious.

“This is you in your  _ good mood _ ?” He asks in total disbelief.

Wymack's look in Nicky's direction makes Neil take two steps back, and he is astonished when he realizes that all Nicky does in response is smile.

But there’s not enough time to digest that fact, because soon Neil feels his legs tremble and he takes a long breath.

“ _ It hurts _ ,” that's all he says, whispering with the intention that only Andrew will listen.

As predicted, he turns to Neil and watches him deeply to look for some meaning in what he just said. The blue eyes are intense as they wait for him to decide what he wants and help him in some way.

“We need Abby, only her. At the ward,” Andrew finally says.

Neil sighs in relief. He doesn’t trust this Abby person, but his body is really hurting, so anyone who can help him with it is welcome. Andrew turns on his heels and pushes Neil out to the hall. They leave a room overflowing with silence and curious eyes as Andrew guides them to another orange wooden door.  _ All doors are the same _ , Neil realized. It must be difficult to walk around the house without being familiar with it or in the dark.

They waited in the hall while the woman with half long brown hair passed them and put a key out of her pocket to the lock on the door. Neil supposed this was Abby. She was a little taller than the two of them and had a very calm expression.

The door opened with a short noise and she signaled them to go ahead, and followed the track behind them. There were two neatly made beds with light gray sheets, lots of medicine cabinets, a single large table in the corner and other instruments with more complicated names.

Abby was already tying her hair and signaling Neil to choose a bed and sit down. He opted for the left one and looked apprehensively at Andrew as he stood in place.

"Would anyone like to explain why I am here?" Abby asked.

The two men were silent. Andrew, noticing that if it depended on Neil they wouldn’t be done with that any time soon, rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“I found him unconscious in the forest. Alone and naked like the day he was born,” Andrew started to explain. “The problem is that he seems totally satisfied with taking my patience by asking things that are completely obvious, saying he doesn't know how to walk and then really acting like that.”

Abby shot Neil her understanding look and tried to reassure him with a calm expression. He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but then closed it instantly and looked quite apprehensive at the still open door. Andrew understood the signal and closed it with a thud.

“I'm not lying about any of these things,” Neil says, staring at Andrew. “I could explain what I know to you, which is not so much, but it’s something, but I don't guarantee that you will believe me or even that I will be safe.”

With that Abby extends her hands in front of her body and looks carefully at Neil, as if watching a scared animal. “You’re safe here, Neil, I promise you. Betsy, Wymack and I took care of this house to help young fugitives, so maybe you are in the right place, yes?”

Neil seemed to process the words very slowly, and it was curious that the first thing he really absorbed was:

“Andrew, are you a fugitive?” He asked, curious.

“Talk for another time.”

Neil nodded and sighed deeply.

“I don't know where to start… I don't know  _ where _ I am,  _ what _ I am now or  _ how _ I got here. What I  _ do _ know, though, is that, first of all, I was in the ocean with my mother and had a very… different… anatomy… than you see now. Like, without these two things here... ”

“Your legs,” Abby completed.

“...and this other thing I don't know what it is, and even less have I discovered what it is for, and now it kind of hurts a little.”

“Your dick,” Andrew said, earning a wary look from Abby.

“Yeah, you keep saying that…” Neil shrugged. “Anyway, I don't care how strange it can be for you, because for me it's ten times worse, and I understand this situation even less than you do.”

Abby's look was both curious and affectionate, and Andrew could relate to the part of curiosity. Neil looked like a hard puzzle that he didn't know how to put together.  _ Yet. _

“This is really confusing, but for now I'm going to focus on looking for any physical damage to your body, okay? Then we'll work out the rest,” the woman said, as she held her hands out to him, slow enough to let him know what she was doing. When Neil didn’t flinch from the touch, she allowed herself to examine him carefully.

Andrew was not that kind, he was looking at him shamelessly, steadfast in a way that made Neil purposefully deviate from his sharp eyes. Abby did as she said and didn’t bring it up any more while looking closely for any signs of injury.

Well, of course everyone could see — clearly — the various scars scattered over Neil's torso, arms and any other visible extension of his skin, but those were already healed, remaining only the visual proof that wounds once existed there. Therefore, they wouldn’t be a problem beyond the reason that put them there, so they were not of Abby’s concern.

However, it was Andrew's.

“About your original anatomy being different,” he said. Neil hissed, but Andrew didn't care enough, “start talking.”

Abby raised her head abruptly and avoided looking at Andrew, who she more than knew was hopeless. Instead, she looked at Neil and smiled at him.

“You don't have to say what you don't want to. Really. Your staying here doesn’t depend on anything other than your will,” Neil nodded at her words while Andrew snorted. “Good. Now can you tell me if you are experiencing pain in any part of your body?”

“Yes, in my… um,  _ legs _ ?”

“Okay, right. And how does this pain feel?”

“It’s stinging and feels much heavier.”

Abby frowned slightly as she thought, staring at a fixed spot in the corner of the room.

“Andrew mentioned that you don't know how to walk, and you confirmed it,” she wondered, without moving her eyes or directing the words to anyone. “Perhaps this pain is the result of hours of walking, which affect you even more since you have not mastered the skill. I don't see anything highly worrying, so for now we are going to focus on regulating your eating and sleeping habits, and hopefully nothing else will come up.”

“So we are going to keep him?” Andrew asked.

“We are not going to ‘keep him’, he is not an animal or a possession. You stay with us if you want, Neil.”

He nodded weakly. Neil locked eyes with Andrew and neither of them let go. Abby cleared her throat and put her hands together.

“I'll leave you two alone. When you’re ready, we will be waiting downstairs,” she said.

She went out and closed the door behind her, leaving two silent men in the almost dark room, now that night was falling.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Andrew asked, about to reach for the handle and get out of there, too.

“Yes, but— Hey, wait,” Neil called before Andrew really had a chance to leave. “Sorry I didn't say anything before, I don't trust them. Yet, at least.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“Okay, but there are things I want to know.”

“So?”

“Well, I—,” Neil interrupted himself, sighing. “If it's not a problem, I want to ask you about them.”

“Why me?”

“Because if you answer me, then you can ask your questions.”

“You said you don't trust us,” it wasn’t a question, but Neil could see the real meaning implied in that.

“No, I said I don't trust  _ them _ .”

“Then, again, why me?”

Andrew had moved away from the door, now he was completely facing Neil and studying him through narrowed eyes.

“That's a good question, actually. A good question that, unfortunately, I don't have a better answer for, all I know is that I trust you. I can see protection and refuge in your eyes, and those are two things I haven't had the chance to have in a long time.”

Those words twisted inside Andrew. He was not expecting that. Why would he? No one was supposed to know, that’s why he was taking the blockers and forgers daily. Still, somehow, a complete stranger had noticed.

‘I can see protection and refuge in your eyes’ repeatedly spun in his head.  _ It was just an observation, it doesn't mean he knows _ , Andrew thought for his own comfort.  _ He couldn’t know you’re faking your own element. _

“You heard the nurse. Eating and sleeping routine first, then we talk about something else,” he deconversated, maintaining the same indifferent and annoyed posture. “Let’s go downstairs.”

Neil blinked a few times before nodding. He was probably waiting for an answer, and was frustrated by the lack of it.

Andrew reached for the doorknob again, and this time he really opened the door, walking through it and going down the stairs, knowing that no matter how fast or slow he did it, Neil wouldn't be able to keep up with him thanks to his lack of skill with the legs.

~~~~~~

A few minutes ago, before everyone even started preparing for dinner, Dan had pulled Neil into a small, stuffy room on the ground floor. She said that there were some extra clothes there, and that they probably wouldn't find anything of Neil's size, but that was no problem because the next day he could go out with someone to some market or bazaar and find his own things.

He ended up wearing a white cotton shirt, big enough to let his body float inside it — which was comfortable — and an equally loose and dark shorts, which he had to put on a belt to hold on his hips.

During dinner, Neil sat in a vacant chair at the long dining table, between Renee and Matt. The last one, specifically, was very excited while talking to him. Everyone had introduced themselves at some point, but Matt was the only one who remained talking to Neil about silly things, while the others continued to ask him about everything. They were kinda rude, to be honest, but he thought he could handle it for the time he would spend there.

Andrew, on the other hand, didn’t say a word or even look at Neil during the entire dinner.

The table was completely filled with various foods, and Neil had never seen any of them in his life. He frowned at that, and Abby was quick to notice the gesture.

“Don't you eat meat, sweetie? Renee is a vegetarian too and I'm sure she wouldn't mind giving a little of her meal to you,” she said.

“I definitely wouldn't mind. Abby always does too much and I never eat everything, anyway,” Renee blinked and gave an overly friendly smile.

“No, it’s not that,” Neil answered them.

“He's probably just wondering how many calories it has in all of these recipes. Here's a tip: too much,” the one called Kevin complained.

“You can always lift your lazy ass, bring it to the kitchen and make the food yourself, if that bothers you,” Wymack scolded him without even looking up from his plate.

“It’s not that, too.”

“So what is it, weirdo?” Seth's voice carried a lot of disgust.

This finally causes a reaction in Andrew. The first during the entire dinner. He looks up from where he was concentrating on his food and looks at Seth with a bigger wave of annoyance.

Neil doesn't notice at first, with all the movement at the table — Dan telling Seth to shut up, Abby saying that word was not pleasant and a few more whispers about how inconvenient Seth was —, but as soon as he spots it, it's almost impossible to divert attention.

Neil sees when a shiver runs through Seth's body and he trembles with the wave of hot air that has settled in the room. It’s so fast that no one else seems to notice, and soon Andrew is looking away again and is completely immobile except for the movements to cut the food, bring it to his mouth, chew and swallow.

“Oh, Seth, you know how much I hate that word,” he says, not deigning to look up again. Everyone at the table goes still. “Yet, you don't think twice about speaking it. I don't want to hear it again, am I clear?”

The silence that follows is inevitable, and Neil is surprised by the fear he sees on some faces as they look at Andrew. At that, Abby just smiles and turns to Neil.

“So, sweetie, what are you going to eat?” She asks.

“It’s, um, I never ate any of that. I don't know what they are.” Neil says, biting his bottom lip.

“Oh. Oh, sure. What do you usually eat?”

“Fish, crustaceans, oysters, mollusks, algae, some larger animals if they are sufficiently harmful to the environment and more species that are not poisonous,” Neil notices some people frowning as he speaks, but does nothing about it.

“Okay... What do you think about tasting the salad? Perhaps you can identify yourself a little better,” Abby offered.

Renee moves to pass some bowls to Neil, and he interestingly puts some of the contents on his plate, just enough to taste a little before actually deciding what he wants. When he was taking the first mouthful, Betsy cleared her throat.

“So, where did you come from, Neil?”

Simple and objective. Neil thought he should be waiting by now, so he barely reacted.

“Like I said to Abby, I used to live in an ocean, you know, the immensely extensive and very deep length of water and stuff.”

He was expecting some negative reactions from everyone, which is why he didn't like it at all when some of them just exchanged complicit looks and Kevin immediately stopped chewing his food.

“You what?” He said, even though Neil knew it was a rhetorical question.

“Um... Is there a problem?”

“Neil, what do you know about us or the place you are now?” Betsy spoke again.

“Honestly? Nothing.”

“Well then someone should explain it to him,” Matt's voice was present beside him.

“Yes. Yes, of course. Neil you should come t—,” It was all Betsy managed to say before being interrupted.

“I already told him that I would explain and clarify things, it’s not my fault if he is desperate,” Andrew said, wearing a blasé expression right after rolling his eyes.

Apparently that was very shocking and unexpected, because everyone at the table was stunned, and Neil didn't really understand why.

“Okay... Thanks, Andrew?” He said then.

Andrew waved his hand to dismiss the words and the room fell into a deep silence.

Neil ended up liking the salad, after all. It didn't look like the taste of the algae he used to eat, but it could be somewhere close to that. Maybe if he tried  _ very _ hard.

The rest of the dinner was quiet, no one else interfered to say anything but general matters, and in the end Neil needed Matt's help to get up from his chair, but the man was ready to help before he was even asked.

They said there was a room available for Neil to share with Matt and Seth, but he was already starting to feel trapped inside the house, and when he said that, they took him to the backyard. It wasn’t very big, just an open space with a well and many plants spread over the soil. 

He found a chair and sat there. Only then he was able to be alone.

Neil watched as everyone moved around the house and a thousand activities were done at the same time. They cleaned up, put away some stuff, talked loud, spent time, and suddenly the lights were going out and the sounds of several feet on the stairs indicated that they were going up. For the rooms, for sure. Neil didn't want to go now, so he curled up in his seat, closed his eyes and stood there waiting until someone came over to pick him up and he was forced to enter the house.

It didn't happen, though.

He remained alone for a long time, until he wondered if they had simply forgotten about him. It would be better if they did, after all. But a few light steps on the grass approaching him proved he was wrong. Neil didn't open his eyes because, somehow, he could feel who it was.

“Did you fall asleep?” Andrew's voice sounded flat next to him.

“Didn’t.”

“Good.”

A noise of wood and earth being broken made Neil open his eyes and try to see what was happening. A wooden log had materialized out of nowhere. It hadn't been there before and now it stayed on the floor while Andrew moved to sit.

“Where did this come from?” Neil was really curious.

“A question for a question, isn't that what you said? Be careful with waste.”

“Um, yeah. Sorry.”

Andrew waved his hand, dismissing Neil's apology. “Tell me, what is the last thing you remember? Before waking up in the woods and stuff.”

“It's... confusing. I remember my mother, being underwater, going away, desperation, screaming, magic overload, always being on the move... And I remember being afraid, above anything else. But putting it all together and understanding everything is still too blurred. At least for the most recent events, because I certainly remember some older things. What explanation did Matt say I deserved?”

Andrew snorted, already annoyed by something Neil didn't know.

“I don't know how things work where you came from, but here we have a functional society based on natural elements that are assigned to us at birth. Long story short, many centuries ago Thaekar, which is this immense land where we are now, was cursed so that everyone who inhabited the place at that time was spiritually connected to one of the five elements of nature. It was supposed to be a curse, yes, but it turned out to be much more of a gift,” Andrew stopped to light a cigarette that could only have materialized in his hand, because Neil doesn't remember seeing it before. “The connection eventually added some  _ skills _ to human nature, so it wasn't exactly a punishment. The primary species were the most powerful, as they were directly exposed to the magic that generated all of this, and the descendants were like a diluted version of them; still very powerful, but not entirely. Well, obviously there are exceptions, but it doesn't matter for now.  _ Aerius _ ,  _ Tellusius _ ,  _ Flammaerius _ and  _ Aquarius _ , that's what the primaries are called. Air, earth, fire and water.  _ Airy _ , _ Earthy _ ,  _ Fiery _ and  _ Watery _ , as the  _ descendants _ are called,” Andrew took a drag on his cigarette. “Why do you have so many scars?”

Neil was so busy trying to process everything Andrew had said that he barely remembered that he had to actually  _ answer _ the question, not just  _ think _ about the answer. He cleared his throat and straightened up.

“My mom and I spent our lives running away. She never said  _ from what _ or  _ why _ , but as long as I can remember, we've been running away. And, well, the ocean can be a very mysterious and dangerous place even for those who live in it. Some people in it too. And sometimes your own mother can be dangerous...” Neil said the last sentence in a weaker voice.

Andrew snorted.

“Amen for that,” he said.

“You said that everyone was connected to one of the five Nature elements, but then you only mentioned four. What about the fifth one?”

“This, in fact, is something that I probably shouldn't tell you, so you'll get a much more abridged version of everything.”

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I can ask something else. Believe me, I have _ a lot of questions _ .”

“I don't doubt that,” Andrew conceded. “But you're being honest, it's fair enough that I do the same.”

“Thank you.”

Andrew dismissed Neil’s thanks this time. “Each element has a function and a line of characteristics common to everyone in the group. Earthies are the common society, Airies the guardians of the land and the people, Fieries the warriors and Wateries are the magic and vitality of Thaekar. The fifth element, though, is a combination of all of these; it is called Spirit. The Spirits are the leaders, this is how the order of things has always happened.”

“But?”

“But there are no more Spirits,” Neil looked doubtful and shocked, while Andrew just looked cold. “Why or how don't you know any of this?”

He wasn’t asking because of outrage, mockery or anything but pure curiosity. That was his question back.

“I don’t know. I guess nobody exactly learns about it underwater, especially me. You know, life on the run and et cetera,” Neil shrugged. “I thought the whole world boiled down to what's under the sea and nothing else.”

“That’s impossible. You can't just swim forever and never come across at least a piece of land. You can’t see such a wide strip of land on the surface and think that it is simply  _ nothing _ .”

“You said yourself that Wateries represent magic, right?”

“Yes.”

“So I believe you have your answer. It may be an illusion to hide the land or just a barrier that separates the two places. Or both,” Neil gave Andrew a few seconds to absorb it. “You also said that water, just like those connected to this element, is a part of this functional society. So why don't we know about you? And vice versa.”

“I said there are no more Spirits, so  _ someone _ is supposed to take the lead in their place, right? And that’s on the Moriyama family, they are Fieries who constantly pretend to be Spirits, and that's how they rule. They took the necessary steps to erase the existence of Wateries. Because, after all, they cannot extinguish them. Wateries are part of Thaekar's balance, and unless the Moriyama family wants the whole place to be affected, they cannot interfere with that. No more than they already did. We know that Thaekar is surrounded by the sea, but as far as we are concerned, this water is only for our survival, which is a lie, obviously, and you are proof of that, but we’re stopped by Airies whenever we try to cross to the other side of the barrier.”

“But that—,” Neil's eyes were wide. “That’s awful!”

“No shit.”

“How do they do it? Why do people allow it?”

The moment the questions left Neil's mouth he realized he shouldn't wait for an answer, because that was Andrew's turn, after all.

That’s why it was a surprise when he  _ did answer _ .

“Because people don't know.”

Neil raised an eyebrow at Andrew.

“And how do you know?”

This time he hesitated before speaking, as if weighing all possible words in his mind before deciding which ones to actually use.

“We received this information from someone who managed to escape Evermore Castle, which is Moriyama's residence. We also didn't know anything until then,” Andrew's first cigarette came to an end, so he pulled a second from the pack. “There's been something shaking you up since you first woke up in the forest, what is it?”

That was true. Neil hadn't stopped to think about it long enough, and it was surprising that Andrew could see when he himself sometimes forgot, but it was true that  _ something _ was bothering him.

“It’s... strange. It's like a sensation. I  _ know _ I have to be somewhere, I  _ know _ how to get there and  _ what to do _ when I get there, but I have no clue of anything else. It's like just a vague thought in my head. And I hate not understanding what's going on.”

Andrew gave a mocking huff.

“Now you know why I can't stand you,” he said, while cigarette smoke escaped from his lips. “Right. Enough questions for today. You should get some sleep soon, you don't want to be tired when we start planning on how we’re going to get to this mysterious place in your head.”

Neil startled a little bit, of which he wasn’t very proud. He cocked his head and looked at Andrew with raised eyebrows.

“ _ We? _ So will you help me?”

“I don’t know yet, but I  _ do _ know I don't trust you enough to go around having the chance of getting everyone in this house and yourself in trouble.”

Neil nodded and pulled his legs over the chair, hugging them to his chest and resting his chin on his knee. He was getting better at using them, after all.

Andrew was still standing at the door, almost inside the house. Neil didn't look at him when he said, “I'll go inside soon.”

Silence dominated when Andrew left without another word. Neil squeezed himself even more and closed his eyes.

~~~~~~

Neil woke up to the noise coming from inside the house. Without realizing or even wanting to, he had slept in the chair in the backyard. Maybe I underestimated how tired I was, he thought.

He rubbed his eyelids and stretched his arms. When he tried to do the same with his legs, his knees practically burned in complaint from the long hours curled up on the chair. This made Neil let out a low whine and remain motionless for a few minutes, waiting for his body to recover. When he was finally able to stand, he took a few minutes to stretch his muscles. The back would probably hurt for most of the day.

When Neil looked up at the sky, the sun was already shining bright enough for him to know it wasn't early at all, so he walked to the door that separated the house from the backyard. His mind was soon invaded by the smell of food being prepared, and Neil inhaled deeply. Abby, who was at the stove mixing something, looked at him and smiled.

“Are you in any pain, Neil? I wanted to wake you up and send you to bed, but Betsy said you looked like you were in a deep sleep, so I didn't want to disturb,” she said.

Only then Neil noticed that Betsy was also in the kitchen, cutting some vegetables. She nodded at him and he returned the gesture.

“I stretched, I'm fine now.”

“Okay,” Abby refocused on what she was doing. “Everyone has had breakfast and now we are preparing lunch, but you can get something from the fridge.”

Neil thought about what would be safer to eat, given that he didn’t know any food normally consumed by them.

“Do you have something... um, natural?”

“There are some fruits in the basket and others in the fridge, you can feel free and take whatever you want,” Betsy answered.

He searched the kitchen and ended up taking something the two women said was called a  _ plum _ . Neil liked the smell, so he washed his hands and the fruit and asked for Abby's help to get something to cut. She handed him a knife and asked him to be careful. He cut a small piece of the fruit and brought it to his mouth, only to find that the taste matched the smell. It didn't take much before he gave up the knife and started bringing the fruit directly to his mouth.

Then a very bustling Nicky was walking into the kitchen and looking at Neil with bright eyes.

“Good to see you’re awake. We’re going to a nearby clothing market to get you some stuff,” he said.

“Who are  _ we _ ?” Neil asked.

“Me, you and Allison.”

“And Andrew,” Neil added. After all, he felt more comfortable with him, among everyone in that house.

Nicky's laugh seemed almost forced and maybe a little pity. “It's easier to get milk out of stone than to get Andrew to come with us.”

Neil shrugged and bit off another piece of plum. “It doesn't change my mind, though.”

“How about asking Andrew before assuming his answer, Nicky?” Betsy said, without turning from the board where she was cutting meat now.

Nicky sighed and left the room mumbling. Neil leaned against one of the benches and remained focused on his fruit. He had been sitting all night, so he thought he could make good use of standing for a while.

Abby and Betsy were talking quietly about spices or something, and Neil looked closely at what they were doing because it was actually quite interesting. It wasn’t as if there were such a wide variety of ways of making food at sea.

A little later two people entered the kitchen. Nicky in the lead with Andrew on his heels, looking enraged. They stopped in the middle of the room and Nicky bit his lip, but before he could say anything, Andrew wrinkled his nose for one second.

“That’s gross,” he said.

Suddenly Neil was very aware of his plum-smeared mouth.

“Sorry,” he ran the back of his hand over his lips, trying to clean it up and probably making it worse.

“Not that, dumbass. Didn't you have a better option to eat than fruit?”

“Not everyone is a hater of anything remotely healthy like you, Andrew,” Betsy said, with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, right. What am I doing here?”

Nicky smiled weakly and looked to Neil for help. Neil sighed and licked his lips before speaking.

“Nicky wants to take me to the clothing market.”

Andrew did nothing but stare at him for long seconds. Then he nodded.

“Finish eating then, we'll be leaving in half an hour.”

“Okay.”

Neil did as he was told and went back to eating the last pieces of plum. Beside Andrew, Nicky seemed almost choked on his own words, and Abby was looking at the scene with interest. Nicky exaggerated a few more gestures before Andrew left the room and Neil went to wash his plum-soiled hands and mouth.

“Neil, do you want to use the bathroom to take a shower?” Abby asked.

“Um, what is this?” Neil frowned.

Nicky looked surprised and tormented by the question. The other women, however, did not let anything show from their faces.

“It's a personal hygiene ritual, practiced by immersing a person whole or partially in the water, to clean up and et cetera,” Betsy explained, gently.

“Oh,” Neil tilted his head, curious. “How do I do this?”

“It's quite easy, actually. Just turn on the shower and the rest you can find out by yourself. There is liquid soap in the bathroom, and you can use it, it's in a yellow bottle. Oh, by the way, soap is a product used for personal hygiene, you just need to rub it over your body and then remove it with water.”

“Cool. Where is the bathroom?” Neil questioned.

“Nicky, please get Neil some other clothes and show him where the bathroom is,” Betsy asked, without looking up from what she was doing.

Nicky agreed silently and nodded toward the door. Neil followed him and they went to the same room where Dan had taken him the day before. Some fabrics were thrown into Neil's arms and he hurried to grab them.

“Remember to get some briefs for you in the market. There are no closed packages here,” Nicky said. “In case you don't know, briefs are underwear that you wear between your trousers, shorts or whatever and your little Neil.”

“I’m not short,” Neil frowned, totally confused.

“You kinda are, but that's not what 'little Neil' means.”

“And what does it mean then?”

“Dick.”

Neil rolled his eyes. He knew what that was, he asked Dan last night.

“Do everyone talk about it all the time? Ever?”

Nicky laughed and casted a fun look at Neil.

“Not  _ all the time _ , but most of it. Especially a person as enthusiastic about this as I am,” Nicky's smile worried Neil. “Now go take a shower. Andrew was literal when he said he was leaving in half an hour. He will do this with or without us. The bathroom is the second door in the hall on this floor.”

Neil said nothing more before turning and leaving. He found it easy, since he didn't have to climb the stairs. At least the shower was an easy tool to learn how to use by himself, unlike most of the other things Neil had seen around the house.

And when he got under the shower spray, dammit, how he had missed water. Having each part of his body surrounded by the smooth sensation of being wet, the drops running down and tracing routes along the extension of his skin and, for a moment, it seems that all worries are being carried away, to somewhere where it doesn't matter. 

Neil found out that taking a shower could be quite an interesting event for him. Yes, he  _ did _ miss other things like the adapted shape of his body that made him able to stay under water or the feeling of freedom that swimming often offered him — even though he was on the run most of the time —, but for now that was enough.

He stayed under the cold spray for long minutes, soaking every part of himself that he was able to. Neil opened the shower curtain and took the cloth that Nicky said was a towel, useful for drying the body after bathe. When it was all dry except for his hair, Neil quickly put on ‘his’ clothes and ran his fingers through the locks to fix it.

Allison and Nicky waited impatiently outside the house, with Andrew looking nothing more than extremely bored beside them. Neil closed the main door behind him and struggled to go to them. He was considerably better at this using-his-legs thing, but not quite yet.

“Do you want help?” Nicky offered.

“I don't think I need it, thanks.”

It wasn't exactly true. Neil just didn't trust Nicky enough. No one in that house, to be honest. Not yet.

He struggled to get down the few steps, and it made Allison snort impatiently, receiving a reproachful look from Nicky for that. Andrew rolled his eyes and made a movement with his hand. Suddenly, the ground literally spit out a piece of wood a little thin and about Neil's leg height with a rounded top. Andrew walked over to Neil, who was looking with fascination, and handed the object to him, who took it but kept it in his hands, not knowing exactly what to do.

“What is this?” Neil twirled the wood in his fingers, curiosity flashing in his eyes.

“It's called a  _ walking stick _ . Use it to improve your balance, ”Andrew explained simply and turned on his back.

“How is this possible to help?”

Nicky stepped forward and showed Neil how to lean on the stick to get the balance he needed. When he finally succeeded and they were moving out of the house lot, Nicky turned to Andrew, curious.

“How did you manage to make it so easy?” He asked.

Andrew stopped walking and seemed to think for a while, but in the end he seemed almost as confused as Nicky, and it piqued Neil's curiosity. Andrew didn't let it show for long, though, returning to his blank expression shortly thereafter.

“I don't know, maybe I'm just better than you,” he replied at last. His voice was cold and something was bothering him, Neil could tell.

Nicky didn't look offended or, much less, convinced, but he dropped the matter. Allison was clicking her nails and making some random flowers appear here and there along the way, and Neil watched her meanwhile. He thought about Nicky's question, the conversation with Andrew the night before and Allison's activity, and then struggled to get to Andrew, who was walking behind them.

“It's my turn to ask, isn't it?” Neil whispered.

At first Andrew didn’t answer or move, it seemed that he had almost even heard. And then he sighed and spread his hands in the air, moving them to the left.

“No need to whisper, they won't listen,” he nodded in Allison and Nicky’s direction, both seriously discussing something in front of them.

Neil tilted his head and wondered how that was possible, because they were not far apart. But Neil had felt the wind around them change direction with Andrew's touch, and he knew it had something to do with it.

“Yesterday you said that people are born with elements assigned to them... In addition to the roles they will play in society, as you also explained, how else does this affect someone's life?” Neil asked, gesturing as he spoke.

Andrew considered him, looking up and down with raised eyebrows.

“I thought you had an idea about that.”

“Don't forget that I’ve lived my whole life in seclusion and running away in the ocean where they say there is no life beyond that.”

“Right. The elements influence your energetic dynamics towards the world around you. Each person performs a specific skill based on their own element and only it. Earthies can manipulate everything the earth owns, Fieries create and manipulate fire, Airies are in charge of everything else that the sky touches and Wateries... you must imagine. You can say it gives us some special skills.”

“Okay. Ask your next question,” Neil said immediately the moment Andrew stopped talking, and that earned him a frown in return.

“I know you have more questions, ask them. I will cut it if I think it’s crossing the limits.”

“Okay. And the Spirits? You didn't talk about them.”

“Spirits are… complex. You see, the creation of descendants will only happen when two people of the same element try. Generally, you will not see an Airy and an Earthy having sex for any reason other than pleasure, and that is because it simply wouldn’t bear fruit.”

“Generally,” Neil focused on the word.

“Yes,  _ generally _ . There are extremely rare situations where a child is born from the act, and these children are the Spirits. They have the gift of having all the elements. That’s why they should lead us. Spirits are righteous, pure and powerful. Or so people say,” Andrew shrugged. “Anyway, it's been too long since one of them was last seen.”

“Aren't you one?”

Andrew blinked. “One what?”

“Spirit,” Neil said as if it were that simple.

“How the fuck did you get to this conclusion?”

Neil bit his lip nervously.

“You said people only have skills related to their element, except for the Spirits,” he began, calmly. “And then you took a walking stick off the ground and changed the direction of the wind. That's what you did, wasn't it? That's why Allison and Nicky can't hear us, because the air is carrying all the words.”

Andrew's look must have sounded an alarm in Neil's mind, because that was too watchful and too critical a look. But it didn't.

“You’re not so stupid, after all. I’m not a Spirit, that is true. There are some manipulators capable of forging in you abilities and characteristics of elements other than yours. They will never be as if you were born with the gift, but they are enough to deceive. ”

Neil was thinking about it.

“You’re an Airy, but you pretend to be an Earthy.”

“Ding ding, you scored a point.”

“That would make Aaron and Nicky Airies like you, wouldn't it? If only equal elements can generate descendants, having them as your direct relatives means that they are like you ”

“That's right, congratulations, Neil, you're finally getting to use your brain, apparently.”

Neil wrinkled his face a few times as he thought. “This is kinda weird, actually.”

“What?”

“I told you that you make me feel safe, right? That I see protection in y—”

“Yes, you said something like that. What about that?”

“I don't feel the same way about Nicky and Aaron, but they're just like you, aren't they? So it doesn't make sense.”

Andrew remained silent for some time after that, and Neil tried not to imagine that it meant something.

“You probably just have a very strange sense of trust,” Andrew said at last.

“I doubt that,” Neil shrugged. “My head looks like it's going to explode with so much information.”

“Allow me to change the subject to distract you, then. What do you know about this place where your instinct insists that you go?”

“It is a small house. I need to talk to a man when I get there. He'll probably be waiting for me. It is in the Northeast direction, at the water's edge.”

“That's bad.”

“Why?”

“Airies have barriers around Thaekar, controlling entrances and exits from the area. Or, rather, closing them. Getting close to the water would mean crossing one of these, which is almost impossible.”

“Oh. This is bad.”

“Yes, we’ll have to be extra cautious about this.”

“ _ We? _ ” Neil was impressed again.

“I told you once and I repeat: I don't trust you to go alone.”

“I wasn't expecting you to  _ actually _ accompany me, to be honest.”

“Bad luck for you, then. I keep my word.”

“Hey, you two, we're almost there, don't be left behind,” Allison said, over her shoulder.

Andrew made a move and the wind resumed its natural course, which meant that the private conversation was over.

It took them a few minutes of walking to arrive at a tall building and not exactly large or spacious. When they entered the place it looked more like a tavern than a market, and Neil looked around with such surprise, apprehension and curiosity that Nicky patted his arm and said that everything was fine. Soon they reached a staircase that led to a lower floor, and  _ then _ things started to fall into place correctly.

“This place is called  _ Eden’s Twilight _ and, as you can see, it’s very versatile. Anyway, the bar is always better at night, when the market is closed,” Nicky explained.

“Um, got it. Do you always come here?”

“Yes. The products are more affordable and the bar is more fun, if you want to come with us any day,” Nicky winked at Neil and smiled.

"Cut it, Hemmick,” Andrew said, walking after the two of them.

After that they were silent as they walked over to an empty balcony. Allison came over a little and put her head between them.

“So, did you two little fuckers have sex yesterday in that forest or what?” She asked.

Andrew's look at her could cut stones, Nicky startled and looked scared at Allison and Neil didn't understand what was going on.

“Allison…” Nicky tried.

“What? I'm just asking. And it is a genuine question, it’s not as if nobody noticed that the newbie is making Andrew talk like people, do things that he definitely would not do with any other of us…”

“I don't ‘make’ Andrew do these things. He does because he wants to.”

“Stop talking about me like I'm not here,” Andrew snarled. “And shut up, Reynolds.”

“Um, of course. I will not interfere with your courtship. Do as you like,” Allison shrugged.

Neil frowned. Courtship wasn’t a strange concept for him, he just didn't realize that they were seemingly doing it. Andrew rolled his eyes and left them at the same time as a tall man came across the balcony. He had a brilliant smile that attracted Nicky in the same second.

“Oh, hey, you... Are you new here?” He asked.

The man smiled even more and nodded.

“My first shift was yesterday. Can I help you?”

“I can definitely think of a list of things you can help me with,” Nicky smirked. “My name is Nicholas.”

Allison rolled her eyes, made an irritated sound and left them too.

“Hey, my name is Erik. It's a pleasure to meet you, Nicky.”

“Oh, the pleasure is completely mine,” he said, and Neil cleared his throat.

It would definitely be a few too long hours. Neil sighed heavily and followed Nicky from side to side until they finally left.

He later asked Andrew if they were courting each other. Andrew closed the door in Neil's face.

  
  


~~~~~~

They stopped asking. Andrew didn't want to take anything from Neil more than he was willing to give, so he wouldn't ask any more questions. Neil never really asked about Andrew, and he wouldn't start doing that now. So they thought it would take time until they were hearing each other's secrets again, but it was only three nights after the first time they actually talked, on the day Neil arrived, that they found themselves sitting under a tree in the backyard of the house while smoking and talking. Surprisingly it was Neil who found Andrew there, and not the other way around as it used to be. 

Whenever he could, Neil spent his time there, because it was the only outdoor space the house had that was always empty, and he felt trapped inside four walls; yet Andrew was not a regular presence. Not in the last few days, at least. But this time, he was just sitting there on the grass with an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. Neil felt like he could come over and, with the right permission, he pulled the lighter out of Andrew's pocket and lit the blonde’s cigarette.

They sat in silence at first. That was what they had been doing lately; they sat next to each other and kept silent. It’s comfortable and natural. But today Neil didn't want that, he wanted to talk.

“My mom used to hurt me a lot,” he said, looking at nothing in particular. “Sometimes she would take that long piece of poisonous seaweed and wrap it around my neck, choking me, saying that this is how I would die if I dared to approach the surface again, suffocated and burned. It used to leave marks on my throat for days. Other times she would cut my skin when she saw me talking to someone else, someone like me, like us. And then she would lock me up in a shell for days, saying that my blood in the water would attract our pursuers to us and I should remain hidden,” Neil still couldn't look at Andrew, but he knew he was being watched closely by him. “I still don't know who we were running from, though.”

Neil, not looking at Andrew's face, takes the cigarette from his lips and holds it to himself, taking a long drag. Andrew let him.

“Do you know where your mom is now?”

“No. But I think she was the one who sent me here,” Neil shrugged.

“At least she did something good after all.”

Finally, Neil's eyes slid to Andrew's face, who was already looking at him. “You think?”

They spent a few seconds looking at each other in silence, until Andrew reached out and took his cigarette back. He didn't take it to his mouth, however, holding it between their bodies as he looked at Neil's lips as he spoke.

“We always enjoy our hallucinations, don't we? That’s why they are dangerous, because they’re better than reality.”

Andrew looked up again and found Neil's eyes fixed on him as he swallowed. Andrew grinned and then brought the cigarette to his lips.

“I am not a hallucination,” Neil said.

“I know,” Andrew held the cigarette smoke inside his lungs. “You are a pipe dream.”

Neil didn’t know how to answer that. They sat in silence until the cigarette reached its filter.

~~~~~~

Andrew was pissed. He was pissed because Neil never _told him_ to do anything, he always _asked_ him to. Neil never pressed him when he seemed to suspect Andrew would say ‘no’. And the worst of it was that Andrew suspected he couldn’t even say ‘no’ to Neil, despite the fact that sometimes the stupid boy didn’t even ask for a thing. 

That was why he was pissed.

And the fact that in less than two days he would be traveling alone with Neil for who knows how long was starting to be more a pain in the ass than he had originally thought.

They had spoken to Wymack about two days earlier, after a long discussion about how much of Neil's story he was willing to share with the man. They discussed and achieved a consensus on how to convince Wymack without making Neil uncomfortable about being too open.

In the end, it was agreed that they would go alone and follow a route that would pass through all the hidden bunkers that Bee, Abby and Wymack owned, so Andrew and Neil would have a place to spend the nights when they needed to.

Everything was perfectly normal in the beginning as they started planning the trip, but the more time went by and the day of their departure closed up on them, the more Andrew grew to realize that spending this time alone with Neil could be a total and completely terrible idea. How would he manage to be near the guy for this long? He totally hates Neil.

_ Of course he does. _

“Are you busy?” A soft voice sounded in the room. Andrew looked up to find a head full of auburn curls going through the doorway and looking curiously into the room.

Actually, he was quite busy. Andrew and Renee were sparring and they still had some time before completing an hour and a half of training, so he replied. “Yes, we are.”

Only then did Neil see Renee, standing in front of Andrew and grinning. She waved at him, who nodded back.

“Okay, I can come back later, then,” Neil said.

Andrew was already nodding in agreement and preparing to return to the position, when Renee, always the holy spirit among all people at any time, waved Neil in and smiled even more at him.

“You can come in and stay for a while, if you want. It certainly won't disturb us as long as you don't stay in the center of the room,” she said.

Andrew shot Renee an annoyed look while Neil was busy considering the invitation. If she noticed, she didn't let it show, but then Renee never let anything show.

Neil finally made a decision, nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him. Andrew watched as he walked to the bed as far away from the center of the room as possible. Neil was much better at using his legs now, he was able to walk smoothly and maintain his balance in at least ninety-nine percent of the situations.

“Whose bed is this?” He asked as he pointed and stared at the spread sheets.

“Kevin,” Andrew replied.

“Do you think he would let me sit here?”

“Who cares? It's Kevin.”

Neil blinked a few times at Andrew and shrugged. The sheets rustled when his weight was placed on them, and Neil sat cross-legged with his elbows on his knees and his head was supported by his hands.

“Do you always train together?” He appeared curious at them.

“Yes, at least two or three times a week,” Renee replied.

Neil hummed and hung his upper body back, resting his hands on the sheet behind him.

“You should call me more often, Andrew looks cute with this tight tank top,” Neil was smirking.

Andrew shot him a disgusted look. “You look cute when quiet and silent.”

Neil rolled his eyes and bit his lip to contain a smile before turning over and lying upside down on the bed, still managing to keep his eyes at them.

They came back to it right away. Andrew wiped a bandaged hand across his forehead, trying to wipe the sweat on the spot, and spread his feet, securing his support and raising his hands to work on the defense while Renee unleashed different offensive attacks against him. Andrew managed to divert the majority and weaken the rest. He could feel his armbands tightening his arms every time he flexed his muscles to keep up with Renee.

Soon she signaled for them to reverse and raised her arms to mirror Andrew's position. He wasted no time in the attacks and tried to work in agile and continuous movements. In one of the strides he managed to hit her cheek, and it rocked her for a few seconds, then she paused and rested her hands on her knees to breathe. When she stood up and ran a hand throwing her short hair back, she stopped in mid-motion when she saw something in the corner of the room.

Andrew followed her gaze.

Neil was still lying on the head, but now there was one more thing. There was a small amount of water floating above him, in which he had dipped one of his hands and kept switching positions a few times to get a better look at it, as if trying to absorb every detail. The hand in the water looked different as there was a swimming membrane between the fingers and scales that extended over the whole skin covered by the water like the fingers, palm and a little of his wrist.

“This is really cool,” Renee said first.

Neil absorbed the comment with a wave and a gesture, dispensing the water back to wherever it came from, moving like a floating bubble to the bathroom. “I miss this. The freedom to swim for hours on end and tear the water like a missile with my own skin. Everything was shit but  _ that _ was good.”

Andrew saw Renee's empathetic nod in response, but none of them said anything in response.

“Can you guys do that too?” Neil asked. “I never saw or heard anyone comment, but from what Andrew told me and if I can, then you can do it too.”

“Do you mean partial metamorphosis? We do, yes,” Renee said, wearing a wide smile.

“Is that what it's called?” When she nodded, he just remained silent for a while. “Show me? I mean, if it's not a nuisance.”

“I don't think I'm exactly the best person to show you that, but that's okay. We have two stages; partial metamorphosis and complete metamorphosis, and the difference between them is quite simple, actually.”

Suddenly the air was shining and gathering around Renee, and her arms carried a different and new outline, like long, shiny wings. Neil could do nothing but look in awe. The wings took on a greenish glow and moved fluidly along Renee's arms. Her skin took on a different texture over some areas, combining with the wings, and her face was a bit thinned.

“This is a low level of partial metamorphosis. It could be more intense, it depends on who is doing it and the situation in question. In a complete metamorphosis I would fully take the form of whatever animal I was turning into, as well as all of its abilities completely. ”

After saying this, the glow faded from Renee and she returned to her standard features. Andrew looked at Neil and practically saw a question shining in his eyes.

“What do you want to know, Neil?”

“It's just... I didn't know she was an Airy like you.”

Renee giggled. “I’m more like him than you can see.”

Neil showed something like displeasure with what might be implied in that sentence, but he nodded nonetheless. The process of learning new things about all these  _ ‘new’ _ species, and especially the inhabitants of this house, was turning into a really intriguing thing for him, it was visible to Andrew.

“I think I'll give you a little time alone and see if anyone needs help down there,” Renee smiled as she spoke again.

“We haven't finished training,” Andrew reminded her. In vain, though.

“It’s enough for today. I think you caught me in this last blow.”

“You've taken worse.”

Renee shrugged and waved to say goodbye. The moment she closed the door when she left, Neil gave Andrew an apologetic smile.

“Sorry for ruining your training. I can try to practice with you, if you want,” he said.

“It’s useless, you wouldn’t be able.”

Neil raised a defiant eyebrow and tilted his face in question.

“Really? Try me.”

He was already getting up from the bed and raising both hands in fists in front of his body.

“Stop this bullshit, Josten,” Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Oh? I don't remember giving you my surname?”

“You really didn’t, but you signed ‘Neil Josten’ at the end of Wymack's route planning to confirm that you agreed.”

“Right, yes, I remember,” Neil granted. “Then what? Are you afraid of losing for me?”

“Fuck me if I am,” Andrew frowned.

“So come on, do it. Stop underestimating me.”

“Josten, I will not—”

“Can I consider this a win by giving up?” Neil smirked.

And the fuck that Andrew would let someone beat him without even doing anything. He delivered the first blow without warning. It was perfectly calculated to hit Neil in a way that would shut him up and maybe destabilize him a little, but not enough to  _ really _ hurt. Andrew could almost see the blow hitting its target, doing what it was supposed to do.

But it didn’t.

Because it was stopped before it could actually land on Neil's skin. By a heap of water. There was, literally, a small liquid wall holding Andrew's fist still in place and preventing him from hitting Neil. When he looked up, Neil had an amused and diabolical expression on his face, and it teased everything up to Andrew's last nerve.

He didn't wait, he moved his other hand and tried to hit Neil with it, even if it wasn't his dominant, he hoped to have the surprise element.

But no, again.

Neil just raised his other hand and then there was another liquid wall holding Andrew's other fist.

“I see you’re more confident in using your skills, but this is not how you spar and so that’s unfair,” Andrew snarled.

“Afraid of losing to me?”

Andrew didn’t answer. Instead, he turned both fists at once and opened his hands, creating an air bubble that expanded until the liquid walls that held him exploded and spread drops of water throughout the room.

“Because I'm good, I'll be giving you the last chance to play it fair,” he said.

“Oh, but I want to see you play it  _ powerful _ .”

_ The son of a bitch. _ Andrew was about to show him power by pulling that smirk off his face. He tried for the last time to punch Neil, only to be cut by a strong wave seemingly out of nowhere that destabilized his blow and, further, broke over him and wet his entire body.

“ _ Oops? _ ” 

There was a complete list of bad words playing in Andrew's mind at the time. His face has turned into a complete frown now and Andrew has moved to remove the bandages from his hands and leave his skin completely free to touch the air. When he was finished, he looked hard at Neil and pushed the wind far enough to drag him and press him against the back wall of the room.

Neil was surprised for a few seconds, until he regained his smugness and smiled at Andrew.

“You’re really good at this _ throwing-someone-against-the-wall _ thing,” he said.

With a light movement, a strip of water swept Andrew's feet and he was knocked hard over onto his back on the floor below him. As if that weren’t enough, some kind of liquid plasma ties wrapped Andrew's two wrists, holding him in place while Neil held the other ends as if it were two strings and looked down at him.

“Fuck,” he gasped.

“You okay?” Neil had the decency to ask.

_ The motherfucker was pinning him against the floor and asking if he was fucking okay _ .

Andrew managed to move his hands enough to catch the band that grabbed his skin and extended as far as where Neil's hands held it. He concentrated on changing the temperature of the air surrounding the liquid and froze the entire length of it  _ and _ Neil's hands in reward.

Andrew took advantage of all the opportunities that the moment offered, held firmly on the edge of the ice and gave a firm tug that dragged Neil forward, made him lose his balance and fall over Andrew's body, smashing all the ice on the ground around them and giving Andrew the chance to roll over and settle over Neil, holding him steady and immobile against the floor.

“That’s enough?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“What a shame, then, because it will have to be.”

“But I'm really enjoying my time right here being crushed by your thighs and et cetera.”

Andrew rolled his eyes and brought his face closer to Neil's, leaving only a few inches between them. He made a point of looking deeply into Neil's eyes and leaving his own mouth half open for a long time before actually saying anything.

“Fucker,” he whispered.

Neil choked on his own breath and opened his eyes wide before laughing and biting his lip, also keeping his eyes on Andrew's.

Andrew was feeling all his hair and body wet, and was surprised at how much effort he must have used if he was covered in that much sweat. Until he realized that it was much colder than sweat.

“Josten, stop pouring water on me,” he warned.

“I'm not. In case you forgot I'm still immobilized by you and I can't think straight enough to get rid of it.”

Andrew moved his body until his mouth was close to Neil's ear. He let out a breath that lightly touched the man's skin beneath him.

“I wonder why’s that.”

Neil swore under his breath as Andrew frowned and got off him, sitting on the floor by his side and looking around.

“ _ What the... _ ”

Water was literally falling from the ceiling. Both Neil and Andrew were looking at the scene with the same confused expression on their faces.

“Did I hit my head too hard or is it raining inside the room?” Neil asked.

“I don't think we're both hallucinating the same thing, so it's probably really happening.”

“ _ How is this happening? _ ”

“Why are you asking me? I know as much as you do,” Andrew answered. “But, you know, it must be some breakdown of our elements or whatever. Water and air... The rain makes sense.”

“Good point. How do we stop?”

“Do I look like I know?”

“Actually? Yes.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Okay, just... I don't know, try to stop the water and I try with the air, it should work. And,  _ before you ask _ , I  _ don't know _ how to do that. Just focus on the goal and it should work.”

Neil shrugged. It was easier than they thought. They only had to concentrate for a few seconds and soon they felt the flow being stopped around them. Neil smiled but it soon fell apart when he saw how the room was completely soaked. Andrew did nothing more than look bored and make a fluid movement with his hand that caused a wave of hot air to sweep the room and solve the problem.

They were still sitting side by side and panting. Andrew ran a hand through his hair, tossing it back, and the gesture caught Neil's attention.

“Renee and I are not related,” he said.

“I didn't even think about it,” Neil answered.

“Yes you did.”

“Okay, maybe just a little.”

Andrew snorted. “My mother abandoned me, that's how I ended up here.”

“What a bitch,” Neil frowned.

“Yeah… She abandoned one son and kept the other. Long story short, she used to beat Aaron and abuse  _ skill enhancers _ , until it killed her. Aaron went on to live with Nicky, Nicky's parents turned out to be intolerants as fuck and they ran away and, due to fate or any shit, they ended up here. Only then did I discover that I have a twin brother. And a cousin.”

“That’s awful. And thank you for trusting to share it with me,” Neil put both hands together, a sign of thanks.

“Yeah, whatever. Get up, let's go down and join the others downstairs. Tomorrow we will check if we have everything we will need for our trip and spend the rest of the day resting, because the journey will be long and we do not guarantee anything on the road.”

“Right. Just one more thing... Wymack, Abby and Betsy all work for sheltered youngsters?”

“ _ This _ place is exactly that, a home for runaways. And their bunkers exist for the same reason.”

Neil nodded and stood, waiting while Andrew took another shirt — with long sleeves — and put it on over the tank top. They went down the stairs at the same time and emerged into the living room, where most of the people in the house were gathered and sitting on the floor in a circle. They looked at the two of them immediately and some were smiling while others stared in daze.

“What?” Andrew made the mistake of asking.

“I am  _ so _ jealous,” Nicky, of course, was the first to speak.

“From what?” Neil didn't even try to hide his complete confusion.

“Dude, you're barely good enough at walking, but  _ of course _ you're  _ excellent _ at being fucked until almost breaking the room,” surprisingly, it was Seth who spoke. And he rolled his eyes right away.

Both Andrew and Neil mirrored their reactions, ducking their heads and frowning hard.

“You're consuming some really bad shit. It's affecting your brain and you should stop soon. All of you.”

“I agree,” Neil was totally blushing.

“If anything I'm surprised that you know what ‘fuck’ means,” Allison said.

“We also have bad words in Clarenby. Most of them are screams, squeals, bubbles and pops to make it easier for the other species to understand, yes, but we still have some in our own language and I recently discovered that they are totally the same as the ones you use.”

Everyone was looking at him with interest when he finished speaking.

“The fuck is a  _ Clarenby _ ?” Andrew, the only one who didn't seem fascinated, asked.

“Oh, right. In the same way the land is called Thaekar, we call the marine kingdom Clarenby.”

“The real question here should be why no one had the idea of using animalistic noises to curse?” Nicky asked, gesturing expansively.

“Because it would be ridiculous,” Aaron answered him, having several people agreeing with him.

For that, Neil made a noise like a dolphin and shells being blown, and  _ now _ all eyes in the room were on him.

“I think it's pretty cool,” he shrugged.

“What did that mean?” Aaron raised an eyebrow.

Neil smiled mischievously and turned his back to go to the open space of the backyard.

“I guess you’ll never know...” His sweet voice followed him as he strode away.

~~~~~~

The room was completely bright when Neil woke up disoriented. His first reaction was to put the sheet over him and try to stick his face in the pillow.

Unfortunately, his senses began to slowly return to himself. First he felt the heat hit him at once and realized that his bed was damp with sweat. Then he heard the considerably loud noises coming from the floor below. This mixed with the very bright light in the room had Neil's eyes widened at once.

It was a short time ago that he had arrived here but he could already recognize that it was too hot and bright to be early in the morning and too noisy for a newly woken house. He turned on the mattress and threw his legs out of bed, sitting up at once and faster than necessary.

After rubbing his eyes to ward off the burning, he walked around the room and left, looking for any signs of movement. Judging by the sound, it was likely that everyone was gathered on the floor below, so he went downstairs.

Some people were split between the kitchen and the dining table, and Neil stood at the kitchen door frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Abby smiled at him.

“What time is it?” He asked.

“It's a little past noon, we should be having lunch.”

“Yes, but we are a little late today,” Nicky spoke up, stirring something on the stove.

“Cool. Why didn't any of you wake me up?”

“Andrew left very specific orders not to do that,” he shrugged, refocusing on what he had in hand.

“What?” Neil frowned. “Why?”

“He said you had to rest as long as you could,” Renee appeared behind him, speaking softly and smiling. Neil turned to her.

“And where is he?”

“He left. He went with Wymack to sort out the last things you two need before leaving.”

“Why the hell did he go without me?”

“As Renee told you, Andrew said you have to rest before you go, and I think he is right,” Abby spoke again.

“So what? Doesn't he happen to go, too?” Neil was starting to get impatient and he didn't even know why.

“It's different, Neil,” Renee used her mediating voice. “Andrew will have no problem walking for several days even though he is out of his element, and the same does not apply to you. Water and Earth represent very diffuse environments, so it will surely be more exhausting for you than for him.”

“Got it,” Neil shrugged.

He walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch, crossing his arms and legs. Matt, sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room, looked at him with a smile.

“Hey, man, what are you doing?” He asked.

“Waiting.”

“Um... Okay…” Matt raised an eyebrow. “Are you anxious about knowing Thaekar better?”

“I think it doesn't matter, I don't care very much as long as I do what I'm going to do.”

“Sometimes I wish I could understand 100% of the things you say,” He blinked a few times. “Wanna help me with this plant?”

Matt was looking at a vase placed on the coffee table. Neil shrugged and walked over, it's not like he's doing anything, anyway.

“What is it?” He asked.

“ _ She’s _ a plant called aloe vera. We cultivate some of them because they have soothing, healing, anesthetic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory properties. And because Allison likes to moisturize her hair and skin with them.”

“She’s kinda cute. In a plant kind of way.”

“Yeah. But I don't know what's going on with this one specifically. Her name is Deise, by the way. And her ends are getting tangled and this is indicative that she is rotting, but I don't know why.”

Neil looked hard at the plant. “Tell me about the care she needs.”

“She must  _ not _ be fertilized too much, placed in small pots, cannot be kept in closed spaces or water too much—”

“That’s the problem.”

“What?”

“There's, like, a lot of water inside her.”

“Oh no,” Matt looked mortified. “ _ No _ , Deise, I don't want to lose you... My poor girl.”

Neil rolled his eyes and placed an open hand over the plant, far enough not to touch.

At his order, drops of water began to slide off the leaves and accumulated around Neil's palm. He took out just enough for the plant to start to rise again.

“Put her outside and give her enough time.”

Matt nodded and stood up carefully, the vase in his hands. He looked down at Neil, who remained seated, and raised an eyebrow.

“Let's go outside. I know you prefer open spaces, and I can introduce you properly to the garden.”

They went to the front of the house, specifically to a specific corner closest to the hedge, and Matt deposited the aloe vera next to some others already there.

“Allow me to introduce you to each of our little babies,” he said and pointed at each of his ‘babies’. “The hedge is Indigo, he is a  _ Clusia fluminensis _ and offers protection to the land it covers. In addition, we have jasmines, orchids, rosa chinensis, succulents, raffia and lucky bamboo. Other than that, there are individual plants. Dan planted that maranta, Betsy the devil’s ivy and Renne the dioneias and droseras.”

“Renee? Isn't she an Airy?”

“She is, indeed. But she likes to participate, so Allison helps her,” Matt smiled at him. “Her connection can be with another element, but that doesn't mean she can't do it with a little help, because, after all, the elements are part of the natural balance in the same way.”

“Oh, got it,” Neil nodded. “What about the greenhouse in the back? I never went there, but I’ve seen it.”

“That's where we keep the vegetable garden, it has a nice variety of options.”

“This is amazing.”

“Isn’t it? Did you do things like that at Clarenby?”

“Um, not really,” Neil pursed his lips. “I mean, the other kids probably went to school, and young people must have learned about using the resources that the ocean can offer us, but I've been alone with my mom since I can remember, and I haven't done any of those things .”

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

“It's okay, my mom still taught me a little bit of it all and I learned the rest as I could. Sometimes in difficult ways, but that's how life is.”

“I don't like that your  _ previous _ life was like that,” Matt's shoulders slumped and he looked really sad.

Neil gave a humorless laugh, “Neither do I.”

Matt took care of some more plants in the garden, with the greatest care and affection in the world, asking for Neil's help a few times and teaching him to do what he could. In the end, they sat under a tree (Canes, the white willow) and talked while eating a dragon fruit.

“Can I ask you something?” Neil asked.

“Of course.”

“Why aren't you an Airy?”

“Um, I mean, besides the main reason, which is that I was born as an Earthy?”

“No, what I mean is that,” he waved his hand and sighed. “Andrew said that Airies are guardians and protectors, and you look like that to me. So, what sets you apart from them?”

Matt smiled. “First, I am honored that this is what you think of me. Second, it is our intentions that set us apart.”

“What do you mean?”

“Airies are protective, that is correct, but they can also be selfish about their reasons. I would throw myself in front of anything to protect someone in need, while an Airy would consider how the situation would affect them before actually taking action.”

“This can't be good, then.”

“Actually it is, in its own way. The Airies are there to protect Thaekar, and that means they need to be more calculating than the rest of us. They value prudence before anything,” Matt shrugged. “I mean, almost anything. Loyalty is also an important point for at least ninety percent of them.”

“This is… interesting,” Neil narrowed his eyes.

“I guess,” he shook his head. “Do you wanna tell me about the pleasant part of your life?”

“I don't know them. If you know any, let me know.”

Matt's face became a blank mask, and Neil tried to apologize.

“Don't apologize for that, you are not to blame.” Matt made sure to reassure him, even though he still looked sad.

“I mean, there were some non-completely-unpleasant parts... The day I found out about magic was definitely one of them.”

“What? Was it an extremely unique and special experience?”

“Actually, I blew up a part of a barrier reef.”

“Oh,” Matt frowned.

Neil chuckled. “Other than that, it  _ was _ an ‘extremely unique and special’ experience ”

“What do you miss most?”

“Dunno. I probably miss the ferocity of the water, and the freedom I had when I was there. Kinda,” he bit his lip before continuing. “But, well, it's not like it's too bad here, either.”

Matt's smile spread from one end of his face to the other.

“Good to know that you feel that way.”

They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and vines moving. Wymack and Andrew appeared across the dirty road. They spotted the two sitting under the tree and stopped before reaching the door. After exchanging a few words, Wymack continued inside the residence while Andrew walked over to them.

“How long did you wake up?” he asked Neil.

“Less than an hour. Why didn't you take me too?”

“Because you had to rest.”

“Just like you.”

“No.”

“No what?”

“No.”

“Okay,” Matt trailed off, “I'm going to leave you two alone to talk. I enjoyed the previous chat, Neil.”

He got up from the floor, dusted off his pants and waved before disappearing to the back of the house. Andrew was still standing.

“Tell me what's bothering you, Josten.”

Neil sighed. “All this shit that we are going to have to do is my fault, I don't want it to look like I'm taking advantage of you or—"

“Spare me to hear that. I  _ offered  _ to help you.”

“So?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“I don't do that often.”

“Still…”

“Josten, I'm going to have to spend an indefinite amount of time traveling with you, please don't make me regret it anytime very soon.”

“Honestly, I'm worried”

“And I'm literally about to trust your sense of direction through a place you've never been in life, tell me about it.”

Neil laughed at that and shrugged. Andrew put both hands in his own pockets and just looked down at him.

“Go inside, you'll burn if you stay out in the sun too long,” he said.

“How cute when you're worried about me,” Neil replied, already propelling himself up and standing. “But I haven't forgotten that you have to rest as well, so shush, I'm right behind you.”

Andrew rolled his eyes, but he turned on his heels and walked to the door.

~~~~~~

They had been walking for hours now, and Andrew was quite focused on the path ahead while Neil couldn't stop sipping every aspect around him that he could. The forest, then the houses when they passed quickly through the middle of a village, the animals greeting them from the shadows of the trees... The more they moved in the direction that Neil's instinct sent, the more he could feel the water moving under them, beneath several layers of soil. It wasn't a strong hunch yet, but it was bigger than he had felt since he got here.

Andrew, however, showed no emotion other than total dissatisfaction. Before they left the house, he needed long minutes to say goodbye to Aaron, so much more than to everyone else. Neil knew Andrew was still internally resentful for the parting, to be honest, and it was filling him with guilt.

As they were passing through a clearing of very tall, living trees, a loud noise from the leaves made Neil startle and almost fall to the ground when he stumbled over a rock. Andrew just raised an eyebrow and looked up. It was nothing but a bird that hit some leaves as it passed, and the two sighed when they saw the animal standing on a branch.

“How beautiful…” Neil commented. “But I've never seen many non-marine animals before, so I don't have many comparisons.”

“It's a bower bird.”

“Oh,  _ wait... _ You can understand and morph into birds, can't you?”

“Yeah,” Andrew shrugged. They started walking again. “It's not relevant if I don't want to do that, though.”

“Wait,  _ what? _ ” Neil's eyes almost popped out of his head. “You never told me that.”

“I'm saying it now.”

“But why?”

“I told you about my family, right?” Andrew asked, and Neil nodded. “So, I don't wanna use or embrace the genes that I share with people so rotten.”

“But, your element is not _ that _ . It's how you connect with Nature and help balance it.”

“Well, I tried to connect as an Earthy, and it didn't work.”

“Because that's  _ not _ who you are. Andrew,  _ c’mon _ .  _ I _ was raised thinking that there was only one single element and yet I know that you must not corrupt the natural course of things.”

“I'm not corrupting it,” he said. Neil looked at him incredulously. “Okay,  _ fine… _ I don't do that  _ anymore _ . Now I just exist without enjoying anything Nature has to offer me.”

“And yet, you didn't hesitate before using your skills against me that day.”

“That was an exception, my dignity was at stake.”

“Kinda sad.”

“My problem.”

“Okay,” Neil pouted. “What is the bird doing here, then?”

“Looking for sex, probably. He must set up a nest somewhere and wait for females.”

“Oh,” he opened his eyes wide.

“What? Don't you guys have that over there in Clarenby?”

“Um, we have, but we are trained to have fish-like instincts, which is not so difficult since we spend 100% of our lives partially metamorphosed into them, you know? I think sexual attraction can work differently when you are fully human. Stronger and without explanation, for example.”

“How can you say that?”

“Guess I realized?”

Andrew raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about that. “And how are these ‘fish-like instincts’ that you are taught about?”

“My mom made a point of forcing me to learn this,” Neil cleared his throat. “Like fish, we mostly have intimate relationships for reproduction, and details always vary according to the species in question, like the male  Sea devil being a parasite to the female in order to always be available when she is ready, or like in a relationship among seahorses where the male is the one who gets pregnant… And some other cases are sad, like a male greater argonaut, who literally has his sexual organ coming to life and later goes looking for a female, but if he doesn't find it, he dies a few months later, depressed. Perhaps cephalopods are close to having some real fun during sex? Some of these species, which have the organ at the tip of the tentacles, can show attractive colors to the partner while showing unattractive colors to predators that could disturb the moment, so, yeah, this must be cool? And did you know that some species have a genital with more than fifty times the size of— ”

“Okay, enough. In short, no fish do it for pleasure?”

“Actually... Yes, the dolphins. In fact, they have a very… unusual sexual behavior. Most of us don't like to take their partial or total form very much.”

“I understand, now enough of that conversation.”

“You asked,” Neil shrugged.

"And I already regret it, so if we could move on..."

They walked in silence, then. Neil, of course, kept looking around everywhere he could, feeling good about being peacefully outdoors. A few minutes passed before a rustle of leaves —  _ again _ — made the two of them stop and look at the bushes.

A small red fox with shiny fur came out of the leaves and walked over to them, sniffing Andrew as if evaluating him for danger or anything alarming, before going to the other man and rubbing its entire soft body by his legs.

“Do all animals usually follow people, or are we really special?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“I don't think they see a Watery every day, in fact, so it makes sense that we’re grabbing their attention.”

Neil hummed and bent down to stroke the fox's head, to which it’s eyes closed in appreciation. When they started walking again, the animal accompanied them, walking beside Neil and following in his pace.

“Are you going to follow us, cutie?” he asked, lowering his head to look at the fox. “Okay then. You're nicer than the bird that crossed us back there, anyway. And you’re  _ definitely _ cooler than my current travel partner. ”

Andrew snorted. “Ha ha.”

Neil ignored him. “Do you have a name? Or can I give you one?”

Surprisingly, the fox did what sounded like something between a scream and a high-pitched whine.

“Oh, right,” Neil nodded, and looked at Andrew. “She is a vixen called Fakeen.”

“How do you know?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“She said.”

“And you understood?”

“Yes?” Neil was confused.

“Um, this is unusual,” he said, assessing Neil. “You shouldn't be able to do that.”

Neil shrugged. He went back to talking to the vixen, who seemed to understand everything perfectly and occasionally added something with her yelp. Sometimes Neil let his head fall back as he laughed at something she said, and Andrew could only frown at that.

They walked for another two hours before stopping in an extensive field to get some rest. The field was empty except for the tall flowers that filled it, and Andrew looked — in vain — for a cut log or tall stone where he could sit.

“Fuck, I want to sit and rest for ten minutes.”

“Sit down, then.”

“I don't wanna sit on the ground, the tall flowers will cover me, and there's nowhere else.”

“You could cast a stone or something, since you want to be the  _ all-powerful _ and  _ legitimate _ Earthy,” he said, with sarcasm in his voice and rolling his eyes. “You brought those skill forgers you used to take, didn't you?”

“I took one before we left”

“Then it must work. I've seen you do it before, when you gave me the walking stick.”

Andrew didn't want to say that, theoretically, that trick shouldn't have worked, so he just shrugged. He imagined a rock big enough at one end of the field, under the shadow of a tree. Neil was watching him, he knew, so he rolled his eyes and made a vague two-finger movement in any direction.

It was completely surprising when a noise went through the ground and a stone really came through a hole that was not there before. Andrew raised his eyebrows and stared at the scene in front of him.

“See? I told you,” Neil smiled smugly.

He tightened the handle of the backpack he carried and walked over to the rock, with the vixen faithfully following him. Andrew remained static for a while, trying to understand how that just had happened.

When he approached them, Neil had taken the backpack off his shoulders and was talking to the vixen, who was lying on his lap while he stroked her carefully.

“Um, no, I’ve never eaten a frog, so I don't know if it's tasty…” He said, a little doubtful.

“ _ Gross, _ ” Andrew wrinkled his nose. The vixen yelped, unconcerned, purring on Neil's lap as he laughed. “What she said?”

“That you're boring but she isn't complaining.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Andrew said, to the animal. Neil laughed and he looked up at Neil. “And fuck you, too.”

They were sitting on top of the rock, taking a deep breath and resting after hours of walking, and Neil kept the conversation going with the vixen, turning just a few times to ask Andrew something. Out of nowhere, the animal jumped up at once and jumped onto the ground below them, waving her tail excitedly and yelling at Neil. He laughed and took a deep breath.

“We’re going to play, could you not abandon us here?”

“We sat down to  _ rest, _ Neil,” Andrew reminded him.

“I'm not tired,” he said, and when he received a blank look back, he gave a wan smile. “I swear I'm not.”

Andrew gave up, exhaling heavily. He took the backpack from his back and took a bottle of water out of it.

“Drink this. We've been walking for hours.”

Neil smiled and drank the water without complaint. It was horrible when he took the bottle out of his mouth and it made a sucking noise against his lips, even more when he picked up the last drops of water with his tongue. Andrew snorted.

“If you get tired and can't take any more walking, I  _ won't _ carry you to the bunker.”

“I won't get tired,” Neil assured, before running after the vixen and shouting something at the animal that was lost in the wind.

Andrew watched as the two jumped from side to side, hiding among the flowers and disputing who ran the fastest across the field. He rolled his eyes because,  _ fuck, _ how cute Neil looked with his cheeks flushed with heat and a bright smile on his face.

And,  _ fuck, _ how he shouldn't be thinking that.

~~~~~~

Neil _did_ get tired.

Of course he did, it wasn't like he was a fucking machine. He and Fakeen (as Neil had consistently insisted Andrew to call the vixen) ran and jumped for almost an hour, then continued walking without any rest. It was a matter of  _ when _ Neil would get tired, not  _ if _ .

At some point when they were passing some well-served fruit trees (which Neil obviously took advantage of), Andrew realized for the first time how Neil seemed to be starting to fade. Neither of them said anything, however, and they went on their way.

That is, until Neil misses a step and almost falls at once, alarming both Andrew and Fakeen.

“I'm fine,” he said, stabilizing himself on his feet and walking again.

For a second, the vixen locked eyes with Andrew and he could have sworn she was judging him, which was ridiculous because a) Fakeen is an _animal_ and b) he had a total of _zero_ _guilt_ in all of that, so there was no reason to be judged.

But her eyes were really too much...

Andrew sighed. “C’mere, idiot, get on my back.”

Neil's eyes widened when he looked back, voraciously denying.

“No, no. I can get to the bunker.”

“We are not going to push your limits. C’mere.”

“But I don't want to be, literally, a dead weight.”

“ _ Josten, _ ” Andrew crossed his arms.

Neil whimpered. “Why don't you do it easier, then? I don't know, maybe creating some wind to take me floating or something.”

“I'm not doing this to risk being caught by anyone passing by.”

“But caught for what? We are not doing anything.”

“If they find out I'm an Airy, we won't have any more peace until the end of the trip and maybe later.”

“Why?”

Andrew sighed. “Because I’m a fugitive. I shouldn't be in another element's territory for no reason, and we're going to raise suspicions.”

“What?  _ Why? _ ”

“Holy shit,” Andrew sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “Get on my back and I'll explain anything you want.”

Neil even considered for three full minutes before giving up and approaching Andrew, who turned his back on him and waited. Neil took the backpack off Andrew's back and held it out to the vixen, who carefully held it with her mouth. He ran his hands over the other man's shoulders and jumped up to wrap his legs around Andrew's waist. There was a moment embarrassing as  _ fuck _ when the two of them became too aware and at once of the extreme proximity between them. Well, they were  _ literally _ pressed against each other. It got worse when Andrew had to hold the end of Neil's thighs, close to the knee joint, to stabilize him, and they both blushed violently.

“Is that ok?” Neil asked, his voice low and uneasy.

“Yes,” Andrew replied a little breathlessly.

But how could it possibly be ok? How could  _ anything _ be at least  _ close _ to okay? In fact, it was a complete chaos. Because Neil was breathing close to Andrew's neck, and that was causing fucking chills all over his body. At the same time that Andrew was squeezing that area of Neil's thighs firmly, and,  _ fuck _ , that was ravishing.

Suddenly distress was almost a physical presence between them as they were back to walking, so they started speaking, because that was the only way they knew how to get around the situation.

Well, mostly Neil speaking and Andrew giving brief answers.

“So, why can't people of different elements cross territories without justification, if no one is at war?” He asked.

Andrew took a few seconds to breath. Neil was speaking very close to his ear, it was disorienting.

“I already told you about the Moriyama family. They are the reason.”

“And doesn't  _ that _ raise suspicions? I mean, it seems really unlikely that they will be able to exercise such a bad government without arousing suspicion at all.”

“Except they do,” Andrew tried to shrug, but it was difficult with a person clinging to him. “It's obvious that they mess with magic in some way, because they were able to alienate the entire population of Thaekar to the point of making us accept such unthinkable things without a single question.”

“But not you, Wymack, Betsy and the other people in the house…”

“Yes, but it wasn't always like that.”

“Okay, you said about the person who managed to escape Evermore and gave you all the information,” Neil said, and Andrew nodded. “Where are they now?”

“You met him.”

“I did?”

“Yes, it's Kevin.”

“No way,” Neil's jaw dropped. “Wait, really?”

“Yes.”

“Kevin  _ ran away from Evermore? _ ”

“I can't understand all your surprise,” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“Um... Actually, I just didn't expect it,” Neil shrugged. “If you guys are probably the only people who know, why don't you do anything?”

“What can we do, Josten?” He tried to turn his head to face Neil, but when their faces got too close, he regretted it and turned back. “They have almost all the Fieries by their side. And they managed to  _ take down the Spirits _ , Josten. How could we  _ start _ trying to take this down on our own?”

“Yeah, got it,” Neil sighed. “Hey, wait, let me get the backpack from Fakeen, she can't take it all the way.”

“You already have a backpack on your back. And we're already there, I bet she can take it until then.”

“Andrew,” he insisted in a non-sense tone.

Taking a very long breath and letting it out even longer, Andrew moved his hand and made the backpack that the vixen held floating in the air, where he picked it up and made Neil curl up tight so that he could get his arms through the handles and leave the bag in his front, instead of the back. Neil smiled and pressed himself against him, placing his chin on Andrew's shoulder and curling up as he could.

“Thanks,” he said.

They continued to follow the steps of the route they had previously drawn a sketch on the map, which Andrew had easily memorized. Fakeen followed their step, attentive to the environment and any changes in it.

They walked in silence for some distance, until Andrew noticed that it was too quiet, and that was unusual for Neil. Then he turned his head and snorted when he saw that the reason was, simply, because Neil had slept with his cheek pressed to Andrew's shoulder and his mouth slightly ajar.

It was unbearable how adorable it was.

“Hey, vixen, if your friend here drools on my shirt, you two can find a way to go it alone the rest of the way,” he said.

The animal did not deign to answer him, just casting a closed, short look.

~~~~~~

Somewhere along the way, Andrew decided that it wouldn't hurt if he used his skills to support Neil on his back. Then, the rest of the way, a breeze followed them as it held the two bodies tight together.

When they arrived at the bunker, Neil had yet to awake from the nap, so Andrew took him to one of the bedrooms and laid him on the bed, closing the door behind him while leaving. Which was hard to handle, considering he had to control Neil and the backpack floating without falling as he opened the bunker entrance and insisted the vixen wait outside.

Andrew went back to where Fakeen was sitting and she shot him a pointed look.

“I put the idiot in the bed, he is sleeping comfortably now,” Andrew said, and immediately felt stupid for talking to an animal. “Anyway, I'm not going to leave you trapped inside, so feel free to do whatever a vixen does during the night. We’re only going out in the morning.”

Fakeen did not move away immediately. In fact, she walked over to him and huddled around Andrew's feet, curling up and lying quietly with her eyes closed. He sighed and slid his back against the wall of the entrance room of the bunker, sitting next to the vixen and burying his fingers in the soft fur.

~~~~~~

  
Andrew was awakened to what could easily be the sound of an army attacking and firing bullets everywhere. This alarmed him.

He jumped out of the bed he had moved himself to once sleep caught up to him, because damn him if he was going to sleep on the floor on a cold night because of a not-so-unbearable vixen, and grabbed his shirt, which was tossed away across the room, while hurriedly leaving and dressing.

The door to the room where he left Neil was open, and he was almost consumed by the possibilities as he went to the source of the noise.

Andrew found himself analyzing the air inside the bunker, to understand his options if there was a fight, and then rolling his eyes when a voice in his mind said, “Weren't you saying you would  _ never _ use your skills?” If that voice sounded exactly like Neil, no one needed to know.

He walked slowly to the kitchen, being careful not to make any noise.

And then he came across the only possible thing that didn't cross his mind.

“What are you doing?” Andrew asked.

At the sound of his voice, Neil jumped up and bristled his entire body. He had something in his hands, and Andrew realized too late that it was a pot of water. In the next second, Neil had his shirt soaked and a surprised expression on his face as he slowly turned to face the blonde standing at the kitchen entrance.

“Why did you do that?” He hissed.

“Are you surprised that the other person you're traveling with is in the same place as you? Wow, Josten...”

“It isn't that,” Neil rolled his eyes. “You scared me, shit.”

He turned to place the pot on the counter and continued cursing as he moved his hand to remove all the water from his shirt. It was kinda funny because Neil barely cursed. Meanwhile, Andrew took the opportunity to absorb the kitchen’s sight, which had some things dropped on the floor and pots scattered, as well as glasses and more pots everywhere, a complete mess. Giving a better look now, Neil was also covered with some flour, and Andrew frowned at the whole thing.

“Woke up in a bad mood?” He asked.

“I didn’t,” Neil was blunt in reply. “But then I thought, ‘oh, I could try to make breakfast to make up for all the work that Andrew is having and is going to have with me during this trip, so why not try to make breakfast?’ Answer: because this is  _ fucking difficult. _ What the hell am I supposed to do with all these things? I have  _ no idea _ , this is so complex and I couldn't even cut the fruits!  _ The fruits! _ They literally came ready, all I had to do was  _ cut _ .  _ And I wasn’t able. _ ”

Andrew's stomach churned. He didn't know what to say or do now. He should be pissed at Neil, because the kitchen was extremely messy and because he had just woken up and who knows what time it was. He should be stressed out, because that was the logical solution to that mess. But he wasn’t, and that was ridiculous.

Neil was trying to make breakfast for  _ him. _

_ Shit, shit, shit. _

The worst thing was that he  _ knew _ why he wasn't mad or something. It wasn't like Andrew was stupid, even though he  _ really _ wanted to be right now.

“Calm the fuck down,” he said, after clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. “I thought we were being attacked or something because of the loud, hellish noise.”

“Sorry about that.”

Andrew waved a hand at him, as if waving a gnat.

“Whatever. Clean up this mess while I go to the bathroom. Try not to knock over the rest of the kitchen, Josten.”

He turned and walked to the bathroom at the end of the hall, closing the door behind him. He needed to pee, yes, but what he really did was despair.

He  _ knew _ what was going on and  _ refused _ to believe it.  _ If you don't admit it, it's not real, _ Andrew thought. Taking a deep breath, he used the bathroom, washed his hands and splashed cold water on his face.

When he returned to the kitchen, Neil was on tiptoe putting some things in the tall cupboard, and smiled shyly at him when he failed to reach.

_ Don't admit, don't admit, don't admit, don't admit— _

“I know I'm taller than you, but you can use your super skills to help me, right?” Neil said, smiling, and simulating unreal movements and sounds of what should be a fight with superpowers.

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Don't come with that shit, okay? You can be, like, half an inch taller than me…”

“It’s more than that.”

“...but I'm still completely cooler.”

Neil smiled and shrugged. “Okay. Now help me get this up there.”

“No,” Andrew crossed his arms and stamped his foot.

“Oh, you're so cute when you're fake-angry.”

“I’m not faking anything.”

Neil sighed and shrugged. “Okay, then.”

He climbed up on the counter in front of him and stood up to put the stuff in the cupboard. Andrew was exalted for three seconds and looked at him alertly.

“Idiot. Get down before you fall. Idiot.”

“I'm fine,” Neil jumped to the floor. “Now it looks like  _ you're _ in a bad mood…”

Andrew snorted. “You have that effect on people.”

After putting all the things away, Neil leaned his hips on a bench and looked at Andrew with a raised eyebrow.

“Will you help me prepare something?” He asked.

He was going to regret this, he was sure. For one reason or another, Andrew would regret it bitterly, but he still replied, “There is a room that looks like a storage room, close to where you slept, and there’s dry firewood and sheets of paper. Take them and bring them here.”

Neil nodded vehemently and went to do as he was told. When he came back, Andrew was rubbing the bridge of his nose and had taken a kettle out of a cupboard.

“I'm going to teach you how to make coffee, pay attention,” he said. “You just need to put water in the kettle, put the wood on the stove, light it and let the water boil.”

“How do I know the water has boiled?”

“Put your hand and see if it burns.”

Neil frowned. “Really?”

“ _ No, _ ” Andrew raised his eyebrows. “The kettle starts to sizzle and then you just have to wait a few more minutes.”

“Okay.”

He watched carefully as Andrew did everything he said. They ground the coffee beans while the water boiled and then he showed Neil how to finish the coffee. Neil's eyes were  _ so _ focused on him that Andrew thought he would blush, and he  _ definitely _ didn't want that.

Once the dark liquid was ready, it was placed on the table with the sugar bowl.

“Ah,  _ shit _ , I forgot that there is no milk here,” Andrew rolled his eyes.

“This is bad?”

“Yes. Black coffee is awful. It tastes like death.”

“If you add sugar—”

“Then it tastes like sweet death.”

Neil giggled. “You’re strong, you can take it.”

Andrew swallowed at that and cleared his throat. “Did you say you were trying to cut some fruits?”

“Oh, right.”

He sighed when Neil turned on his back and fetched a large pot filled with some of the fruits they had picked up from the road.

“I washed it, because Abby said I needed to do it with new fruit. At least I managed to do  _ that _ ,” he said, and smirked.

Looking at the available fruit options, Andrew grimaced. “I think my menu alternatives will be quite unpleasant for a while, I should have thought about that before I came.”

“Probably.”

“Um,” he snorted. “Did you feed the vixen?”

Neil's head turned so fast to him that Andrew was afraid it would come off his neck. He was wide-eyed and standing in place.

“Is Fakeen still here?”

“Yes. At least she was when I left her sleeping last night.”

It took a few seconds, but then Neil was looking at him with a stupid smirk on his face.

“What, Josten?” Andrew didn't look at him when he asked, instead focusing on fixing himself coffee.

“You like her too, don't you?”

“I just asked if you fed the vixen... Because, you know, she is a  _ living being _ .”

“Yeah, okay,” Neil bit his lip. “So can we keep her?”

“Josten, Fakeen is a wild animal, we can't  _ get her _ to go with us.”

“I wouldn't do that,” he said, looking offended. “But, you know, if she wanted to…”

“Whatever, you’ll do it anyways,” Andrew rolled his eyes, and Neil celebrated silently. “Now go see if the animal ate.”

He left smiling and Andrew rolled his eyes again, just for good measure.

While he was choosing the less unpleasant fruit, he heard when Neil opened the bunker door and left, speaking in a sweet voice, “Hi, Fakeen. Oh, are you eating? Good, I was coming here to check exactly that… Um,  _ what _ are you eating?”

A few seconds of silence, and then the whine of the vixen. Neil hummed.

“I still don't know what a rat is, but enjoy your meal, will you?”

Andrew had to bite his lip to contain a smile. He bit a large piece of green apple and hoped that was enough to stop his mouth from doing anything other than chewing. He was wrinkling his nose when the other man returned and looked at him with an amused expression.

“What's with the funny face?” Neil asked.

“I forgot how bad green apples are.”

“No they aren’t. I stole a piece of it once and it's delicious, I dare say even more than the red one.”

“Both are bad, that's the thing.”

“You don't like anything, it's hard to please you.”

“Of course not. I like chocolate, ice cream, cake...”Andrew shrugged.

“So picky…”

“Sit down and start eating, Josten. We have to leave at any time.”

Neil did as he was told and took one of the chairs from the table. Andrew was putting tons of sugar in his coffee, a failed attempt to improve the taste without the thousands of add-ons he used to put. When he took the first sip, he grimaced anyway. Neil laughed, the idiot.

They didn't rush during breakfast, though, and Neil chatted excitedly while keeping his legs close to his chest and the cup of coffee between his two hands, resting on his knee.

It was nice, as much as it was almost painful to admit.

~~~~~~

They were lucky in the following days of travel.

Unfortunately the same didn’t happen on the fifth day they were on the road.

They were walking and talking seriously about where it was easier to live: ocean or land.

“What do you think, Fakeen?” Neil asked, looking at the vixen.

And for a second, probably insane, Andrew swears he saw the animal shrug. Or something close to that. Anyway.

Fakeen yelped and Neil snorted.

“She said she would have no way of knowing, since she never lived in the ocean.”

“Wait, I have a serious question now,” Andrew waved his hands.

“What?”

“If you can manipulate magic, because you’re a Watery and et cetera, do you think you can make Fakeen turn into, I don't know, an  _ aquatic vixen _ ?”

He received a curious look from Neil and something that should be concern from the vixen in question.

“I don't know, but it would be interesting…” Neil scratched his chin. “What would an aquatic vixen look like?”

“Pretty cool, I guess. Vixens are fast and very beautiful animals, so you would have both the skill and the aesthetics,” Andrew counted on his fingers. “And  _ I _ would have a reputation for the incredible invention.”

“This is not an invention, it’s a delusion. A strangely functional delusion, but still...”

And that was when they heard the first thunder. The leap Neil took was incredibly sublime and applied, and made Andrew laugh out loud before stopping and analyzing that they had just heard a thunder. It was impossible that this was a good sign.

“Was that a thunder?” Neil asked, after recovering from the scare and getting back to Andrew (because the idiot had run to hide among the bushes. Fucking hilarious.)

“Sadly, yes.”

“I didn't know that it usually rains here.”

“What the fuck, why wouldn't it rain?”

“I don't know, it's so different from Clarenby here that I just assumed everything was different. I am  _ learning _ that it’s not.”

“We  _ have _ rain. They are more frequent as you approach the limits of Thaekar, where it’s closer to the sea and the environment of the Airies, and in the city around Evermore, the castle of the Spirits.”

“Do Airies control all rain?”

“No. All natural events are just that, natural, and that’s an immutable thing. But if you are closer to the domains of a certain element, it is likely that situations related to that element happen more frequently there. Rain or snow storms, tornadoes and things like that for the Airies, volcanic eruptions for the Fieries… I think you can understand, right?”

“Yes. Is there a reason for that?”

“Discharges of energy.”

“Oh. We have discharges too. I mean, us, Wateries.”

“Predictable. There must be some side effect of it in the water, too, like, I don't know, very strong tremors or something.”

“Hard to tell from the bottom of the sea.”

“Yeah, hard to tell from an isolated place, too.”

Neil chuckled. Another thunder shook them, this time followed by lightning streaking across the sky. Fakeen shuddered beside them. Neil picked her up and placed her on his shoulder, holding her like a baby. The vixen stayed in place and accepted the man's closeness.

“Shit, apparently it's going to be a big storm,” Andrew cursed.

“Are we far away from the bunker?”

“No, I guess, but I'm not sure how much time we have.”

“Okay, then, let's run.”

“No.”

“Do you have another idea?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“No, but I'm not running.”

Andrew knew immediately that Neil was going to do some shit, because he smiled, his devilish smile, and relaxed his face.

“Do you run fast, Fakeen?” he asked.

The vixen made a noise that pleased Neil, so Andrew just assumed it should be a positive response.

“What are you going to do, Josten?”

“The last one to arrive at the bunker has to make breakfast,” he said, before immediately starting to run.

The son of a bitch was fast, and that surprised Andrew as hell, considering he _ recently  _ learned to  _ walk _ .

“Josten! Stop running,” Andrew shouted.

In vain. Neil continued running, accompanied by Fakeen.

Andrew rubbed his hands over his face very hard and growled in irritation. As he said, he wouldn't run, but he also wouldn't be able to let Neil run alone and take any chances, so Andrew did something he swore he wouldn't do.

He took a deep breath and concentrated. It had been a while since he last did this and the situation was completely different. The other time he was running away; now he was trying to protect.

Andrew felt the air gathering around him and he tried not to take too long because Neil was already disappearing from his sight. He closed his eyes and felt the change in his body like a comfortable breeze. It wasn't uncomfortable like it was the first time, but it was... weird.

When he opened his eyes again, the perception of change was immediate.  _ Eagle: bird of prey, fast enough and of great visual acuity _ . It should be enough.

He still felt like Andrew, obviously, even if this was a complete metamorphosis with a small addition to the bird's natural instinct, but it was not enough to overwhelm him if he didn't let it. He knew how complete metamorphosis were more dangerous, if they dominated the mind of the person who made it. Some people would stay for days trapped in the body of the animal they chose to transform. The intensity will always vary with the vigor of that species' instinct.

But Andrew was fine, because, as Wymack always said, he was a hardnut.

He took flight and tried not to admit how much he missed that sensation. Perhaps  _ this _ was his real addiction that he was trying so hard to replace with cigarettes. Flying was an indescribable sensation. It was Andrew's nature, even if he denied it as much as he wanted. The wind breaking his skin (or wool, in that case) and hissing in his ear, as he watched things go by quickly around... It was totally surreal.

_ Focus, Andrew _ .

He looked down through the trees and found Neil still running.

_ Fucking bastard _ , he cursed in his little bird brain.

Andrew dove during the flight and approached the auburn-haired man, taking care not to scare him. Neil opened his eyes wide when he saw the eagle coming towards him and was startled during the seconds it took him to realize that it was not simply an eagle.

“ _ Andrew? _ What the fuck,  _ an eagle? _ ” He barked. “ _ This is— _ This is so unfair.”

In his eagle mind, Andrew laughed. He went back up and made sure Neil knew he was with him. Neil nodded and smiled, impossibly putting even more speed on his legs. That way they had a great chance of reaching the bunker before the rain.

Neil managed to deviate from the city that they were supposed to pass, around the forest, and it was a surprise that he did not get lost, since that diversion was not on the route they had plotted. Probably something of that instinct (or sorta) that he said was what made him sure where they should go.

After a long run, they arrived at the field where the bunker was hidden at the same time that the first faint drops of rain began to fall, and Andrew immediately dived in his flight, stopping in front of the door and returning to the standard body before Neil arrived.

Neil let all the air out of his lungs and cursed.

“It looks like I won,” Andrew smirked.

“Cheating... I also... would be able to... win,” he was panting heavily.

“You didn't say that I couldn't become an eagle.”

“ _ I— An— Wh— _ I didn't think it was  _ necessary! _ ”

“Okay, here's the tip for next time,” Andrew winked at him playfully.

The rain thickened and they both looked up. Neil's eyes lit up. No joke, no exaggeration or any shit, his eyes fucking flashed. It seemed that all the stars and the entire universe were there and it was the most beautiful thing possible.

Neil reached out and let the water envelop him completely, closing his eyes and succumbing to the feeling of the clothes getting heavy against his body and the skin cooling quickly.

“This is good,” he whispered.

“Josten, if you want to get wet there is a shower inside the bunker, let's go in.”

“The shower is different, it's not natural,” Neil stuck his tongue out to him.

Andrew knew that arguing would be a waste of time, so he leaned back against the wall, dried his whole body with warm air and stretched an air barrier between himself and the rain, avoiding getting wet again.

He wanted to think about how he felt, he really did since that's what Bee would ask him to do after using so much of his  _ true _ element, but he couldn't.

Not when Neil was smiling and running in circles across the wet grass, extending his tongue to try to collect drops of water, jumping with the vixen who apparently didn't mind getting wet anymore and dancing. Andrew just stood there watching them, and for a moment, he was fine.

For a moment, he realized that he didn't want to think about it because it wasn't bothering him. And that was mainly ‘cause the idiot, aka Neil Josten, managed in his twisted way to convince Andrew of the importance in the connection between person-element-Nature. Neil kept rambling about that for hours in their days of journey and without realizing it, Andrew had internalized it, and,  _ wow _ , what an unpredictable turnaround that was.

It was natural to use his skills around Neil, and it made him realize that maybe that was the reason he was holding it back previously. He didn't want positive reactions because,  _ yay, he got it _ or negative because  _ he shouldn't _ . He didn't want reactions at all, it was that simple. And Neil didn’t react, he just was there.

Andrew silently appreciated to watch the whole scene. 

The vixen made noises and fell on the grass a few times, which made Neil laugh so much that Andrew realized that was, secretly, his new favorite sound.

The breeze was very cold, he knew it even though he couldn't feel it since Airies were easily adaptable to climate change, but Neil wasn’t an Airy. He must be freezing like a popsicle.

“Josten, let's go in, you'll be sick if you stay outside when it’s cold like this,” he called. Neil looked at him and pouted. “Without discussion, come on.”

When he didn't move, Andrew sighed and extended the layer of air that was preventing the raindrops from falling on him until it covered Neil too. Neil opened his mouth and raised his eyebrows.

“ _ That's not fair! _ ”

“Injustice it will be if you catch a cold or, I don't know, something worse. Not only will it be an injustice, it will also suck.”

After many seconds pouting, Neil walked to the bunker door, stomping. The vixen came slowly after him.

“Can Fakeen stay inside tonight?” Neil asked with big eyes.

“She will bring down the inside of the bunker.”

“Fakeen, are you going to do this?” he turned to the animal, which made a single short sound. “She said no. C’mon, Drew, she can't be here suffering in the rain.”

The son of a bitch was using a soft voice and abusing the giant, deep blue eyes.

“What if the interior becomes stinky? Like a  _ wet animal _ ?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“If Fakeen sleeps outside, then so do I,” he crossed his arms in front of his chest and stamped his foot.

Andrew rolled his eyes and sighed heavily and dramatically. He dried them both with hot air and opened the door.

“Go, get in already.”

Neil smiled from side to side and almost ran inside with the vixen. Andrew followed them both.

“By the way, I think you owe me breakfast, Josten.”

Sighing, Neil said, “You are so annoying.”

~~~~~~

One day, while crossing a village, they passed a tavern, and suddenly Andrew was craving for a drink.

“I don't think we'll be in trouble if we stop here for a while,” Neil said, shrugging.

“You would be surprised at how great the possibility of some shit happening is.”

Neil laughed. “But it's not  _ a hundred percent _ , so…”

“ _ That's  _ why I say you're a problem, Josten,” Andrew sighed.

In the end, they  _ did _ go to the tavern. It was a spacious place and it wasn't very crowded, which was a good thing because they wouldn't have to bump into other people.

“Fakeen, I think it's better if you stay out here, okay?” Neil said, before they got in. “Preferably hidden somewhere.”

The vixen said nothing before turning and running into some dark alley. They entered the establishment to find some groups of loud people and other silent figures sitting alone. Neil pointed to two empty stools in the corner of the bar, and they went over there.

“I’ve never visited a place like this. Well, except that time Nicky took us to the clothing market, but I didn't visit the bar part, so it doesn't count.”

“I don't think there are many bars by the ocean,” Andrew shrugged.

“Actually, it does.”

“What?” He frowned. “How can you drink underwater?”

Neil smiled. “We have some substances that can have an effect on the brain and consequently other areas of the body, that's basically what alcoholic drinks do, isn't it?”

“Yes.”

“Right. The intensity of the effects varies according to the origin of the substances, which can be fish, molluscs, plants, corals, crustaceans and et cetera.”

“So, in marine bars people use drugs?”

“Just like here,” Neil shrugged. “Alcohol is a drug.”

Andrew just looked at him thoughtfully.

“Okay, call it fair,” he said. “Do you want something?”

“I doubt that I would know any of the options available.”

“True,” Andrew nodded. “Can I suggest something, then?”

“Of course.”

The blonde reached out to call an attendant, who arrived shortly.

“Can I help you?”

The badge attached to the uniform said  _ ‘Kae; they / them’ _ and Andrew kept that information.

“Yes, Kae. I would like a beer, water, fries and a medium burger,” he asked.

“Please,” Neil added, speaking over him.

Kae smiled at the auburn haired man.

“I'll be right back with your order,” they said.

As they walked away, Andrew watched the people around him, just in case.

“I have a question,” Neil said. Andrew hummed, signaling he was listening. “When Kevin went to Wymack, Betsy and Abby, was he specifically looking for them or was it by chance?”

“This question is kinda surprising.”

“Oh, you don't have to answer if you don't want to or cannot…”

“That’s not it. I just didn't expect you to ask about  _ Kevin _ .”

“Honestly? Me neither. That question just popped into my mind, out of nowhere.”

Andrew nodded. “Whatever.”

“So?”

“He was looking for us. For Wymack, specifically.”

“Why?”

“Because Kevin is his son.”

“Wait, what?” Neil almost jumped off the stool. “Wait, that means Wymack is also a Fiery, right?”

Andrew raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.

“I’m impressed that your reasoning can be so fast,” he conceded. “Yes, it means just that.”

“How did this happen? How did Wymack manage to escape and get to where he is now? I can't imagine it being so easy.”

“Honestly? I have no idea. He had this affair at once with Kayleigh, who is Kevin's mother, but apparently he was not an important enough person to be noticed when he left the Fiery territory. Wymack was able to connect to the new element better than me, so he is a less obvious fugitive, probably.”

“Oh. And didn't he know about the stupid Moriyama government? ”

Andrew looked around, checking to see if anyone was around.

“Be careful when talking about it outdoors,” he warned and started to whisper. “No, Wymack didn't know. As I said, he wasn’t important enough to have that kind of knowledge.”

“But... Kevin was?”

“Kayleigh was the most important soldier in the Fiery army, so, because he is her son, Kevin was equally granted. When Kayleigh died and Wymack was gone, he was 'welcomed' by the Moriyama family.”

“Holy shit, that must’ve been awful.”

“Indeed.”

Kae returned with everything that had been ordered on a tray. Neil's eyes widened and sparkled when he saw the burger, and both Andrew and Kae smiled.

“Thank you very much, Kae,” Neil nodded vigorously.

“You are a sweetie, dear. You're welcome,” they gave a small nod before leaving.

Andrew took the beer and brought it to his mouth, taking the first sip with satisfaction. Meanwhile, Neil kept looking at the food, not sure what to do, so he chose to pick up the water bottle and drink some.

“Josten, this is a burger, like, a food. It won't bite you. In fact, we hope the  _ opposite _ will be done.”

Neil looked at the meal curiously.

“And all I have to do is eat this with my hands? No cutlery?”

“Exactly. Hold it closed so nothing falls out and then bite.”

“But it's too big, I can't put it all in my mouth,” he pouted. Andrew gasped for a millisecond and raised an eyebrow. Neil just looked at him blankly. “What?”

“Um, nothing,” he cleared his throat. “Yes, you can. You don't have to bite it all at once, just as much as you can.”

Neil took the burger carefully, holding the bread tightly. He bit slowly, handling to hold without dropping and biting a good portion, all at the same time. Neil looked totally amazed as he chewed even more slowly, contorting his face in a bunch of expressions at the same time. Andrew smiled, taking the beer to his mouth to cover it up and picking up a fry.

“Okay, this is really good. Probably one of the best things I’ve eaten so far since I arrived in Thaekar.”

“What? Are you telling me that, out of all the fruits and vegetables and any other healthy shit, which was  _ all you've eaten _ since you got here, isn't hamburger your _ favorite _ above all?” Andrew was dismayed.

Neil blushed. “That would be the fruit pancake you made the other day.”

“Oh.”

Now the two of them were blushing. They allowed themselves to be silent for a while, letting the sound of music played by a banjo, harp and drums fill the space between them. Neil was looking at the people dancing in front of everyone with a smile on his face, laughing at their disastrous and alcohol-fueled performances. Andrew, of course, was watching Neil and cursing in every possible way the feeling that made the auburn haired man look like that (like an idiot, of course).

“Hey, do you want some?” he came out of his daydreams when Neil asked, pointing at half-finished food.

“No. I‘m fine.”

“But I can't take it all.”

Andrew swallowed and took a deep breath. “Okay, you gotta stop saying things like that.”

Neil just blinked twice, holding the burger out to him. Andrew had to ignore the fact that Neil’s mouth was dirty with some sauce, and, mostly, he had to ignore any mental illness he acquired that was making him think it was funny and,  _ for fuck’s sake _ , cute.

They ate in silence, alternating between burger and fries until there was nothing left but crumbs on the plate. It was a serene moment, even with the loud noise of the tavern around them. Neil was still mesmerized by the other people dancing, following each movement with his eyes bright and fascinated as he bit his lower lip.

Andrew watched him for too many minutes, even forgetting his own beer, left on the table. He called Kae and paid what he owed for them, who thanked him and smiled as they walked away. When he looked back at Neil, he was swinging one leg, as if he was too agitated to continue sitting there.

“You should go dancing,” Andrew suggested, then.

Neil looked at him with wide eyes and tilted his head.

“Why do you think I should?”

“Because you want to.”

“No, I don’t—”

“It's almost  _ written _ on your forehead that you do.”

“Okay, maybe... But I'm ashamed.”

“Bullshit. Everyone here is drunk, you can't be the most shameful of the place,” Andrew rolled his eyes.

Neil laughed and shook his head. “Will you come with me?”

“No.”

“But why? You said that I had nothing to fear.”

“I didn’t say  _ that _ .”

“So shouldn't I go?”

“I didn't say that either,” Andrew was now frowning.

“So—”

“ _ Fuck. _ Okay, I will. But I'm not going to do anything, just stand still.”

“I wouldn't ask for more than that,” Neil smirked and blushed, rising from his stool and skipping to a corner of the tavern closest to the band that was playing the songs.

Andrew did exactly as he said he would and stood in front of him, holding his beer and occasionally taking a few sips. Neil showed no hesitation before moving his body excitedly and dancing to the rhythm. Andrew immediately made two observations:

  1. Neil didn’t have a single bone that was coordinated or could swing in his body. It was disastrous.
  2. He was dancing in the same vibrant way he always played with Fakeen, and realizing that was even more disastrous.



Andrew swallowed more of his beer and tried to look away. He must admit that he was quite surprised when, looking at the bar, he saw that Kae was watching and smiling as if they knew something else.  _ There’s nothing to possibly know here, _ he thought with a frown.

Neil waved his body from side to side and closed his eyes with a large smile on his face, shook his head and moved his arms in a specific rhythm. This was too much, Andrew wanted to explode right there.

This wish only increased when Neil held out a hand to him.

“What?” Andrew asked.

“Give me your hand?”

“I said I'm not going to dance.”

“ _ Oh, no _ ,” he shook his head and hands, stopping moving to look Andrew seriously in the eye. “I really just want your hand.”

With an eyebrow raised in suspicion, Andrew reached out to him, and Neil thanked him with a smile as he lightly held the outstretched palm and used Andrew's arm to go over his head as he spun in place. It would kinda look like Andrew was spinning him, to anyone looking outside.

Neil was really having fun, and all Andrew wanted was not to be smiling, but he was. Probably one of the biggest smiles of his life, if things could get worse. The blue eyes were shining in the way he learned to recognize, as if they had the whole universe stored inside those intense irises, the lips that Andrew could only imagine being soft never let the smile disappear and the hair was starting to stick to his forehead because of the sweat, but it was still the delicate curls that Andrew had fallen in love with.

_ Yeah. Pretty shitty, huh? _

That was it, he knew it was. It was too obvious for him to miss.

Right now, as Neil spun and danced, all Andrew could think about was the small details he liked, the satisfaction in seeing Neil so excited and how much he hated to like it.

As he had promised, he did _ not  _ dance, just standing and supporting Neil's awkward steps. That was great for both of them.

Andrew had to almost carry the other man back to the stools, because he was already completely sweaty and a rest wouldn't hurt.

“I'm telling you, there was this time that I made friends with a super strange blue marlin,” Neil was chattering.

“I have no idea what that is.”

“It’s a kind of fish that has an extension in the upper jaw, as if it were a long sword,” he explained, gesturing with his hand to demonstrate something like a very long nose. “He said he doubted I was faster than him and I was pissed about it.”

“And what did you do about it?” Andrew raised an eyebrow as he pushed Neil to sit at the stool and seated himself in the one beside him.

“I bet race with him,” Neil stated as if that was obvious.

“ _ Obviously _ you did that…” Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. I did a partial metamorphosis to acquire the skills of a blue marlin, so we would kind of be competing head to head, you know? Super badass.”

“Oh really? Did your nose grow like the fish's?”

“ _ No. _ ” Neil's eyes widened, and Andrew smiled. “First, it's not the fish's  _ nose _ that is big, it's the  _ upper jaw _ . And, no, in fact, a stinger appeared in each of my arms, representing the extended jaw of the blue marlin.”

“That’s actually cool.”

“I know,” Neil smiled smugly.

“And who won?”

“Me, obviously,” he boasted. “And this is where things get weird. When I won, the fish, who was called Finley, started to praise me  _ a lot _ and say tons of bizarre things about wanting to meet me alone and how I had become very beautiful with the features of a blue marlin... ”

Andrew made a noise in his throat, an attempt of laughter aborted by his hand covering his mouth. Neil sighed when he saw the gesture, covering his face with his hands.

“A  _ fish _ flirted with you, you can't expect me not to react to that,” Andrew defended himself.

“Fair enough,” he sighed again. “Asshole.”

They laughed and Neil shrugged.

Andrew should have never teached him to curse someone with human’s body parts.

“Excuse me,” a person approached them. “Is this individual a cheap whore or something?”

The person was talking to Andrew, but openly referring to Neil.

“ _ Excuse me? _ ” Andrew frowned.

Neil watched the scene curiously.

“What's a whore, Drew?” He asked, whispering.

Andrew didn’t reply, still looking coldly at the person in front of them.

“I'm sorry if it was a misunderstanding, I just thought that, with so many disgusting scars, the individual was just a single-use object. I would appreciate it if you could give me an answer," they said.

Neil retracted this time, probably beginning to have an idea of what was being said. The startled expression on his face made Andrew's irritation burn even stronger.

“My, um… my name is Neil. And he is Andrew,” Neil said, in a low voice. “We're kinda busy right now, so if you could—”

“Good to know, but I'm not talking to you,” the person spoke again, without even looking away from Andrew. “Sir, can you answer me?”

The problem, however, was that Andrew was shaking and almost on fire with anger pulsing through his veins. Neil was withdrawn in his place, but that didn't stop him from seeing when the objects around them started to vibrate slightly, and he knew what it meant even if he had never witnessed it before.

“Drew,” Neil whispered, moving his hand to grab his arm, but stopping halfway. A shock wave passed through Andrew's body as he turned to meet Neil's downcast gaze and his hand extended in an aborted motion to grab his arm. “Let's just get out of here, okay?”

Andrew watched Neil's face, and he couldn't remain enraged when he saw the hurt look he found there.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes. I'm fine.”

He didn't look  _ fine _ , but Andrew wouldn't be discussing it. As they walked away, he offered his arm to Neil, who intertwined his own and held it with his dear life. The last thing they saw before they left was a full bottle,  _ mysteriously _ , flying towards the head of the person who had approached them and said that shit.

They found Fakeen sitting by a dark alley, and she was quick to follow them, going straight to Neil and sniffing him as if searching for what was wrong.

They walked ahead, while Neil told vixen about burgers, fries and dances, and Andrew stayed behind, watching for anything different that the other man might miss. In the slightest sign, Andrew would turn around and return to the tavern to sink that person's head on the floor.

Nothing happened, though. In less than two hours they arrived at the bunker and each went to a room to sleep.

~~~~~~

The next day, Andrew could say that something was wrong with Neil. He had to almost push the food into Neil’s mouth during breakfast, repeating that he could be sick if he didn't eat properly. After that, Neil entered the room and returned with two layers of too long shirts, pants and gloves.

“Are you cold?” Andrew asked. He was not so aware of temperature.

“No. It’s to avoid mosquitoes in the forest.”

_ Lie.  _ Mosquitoes _ literally _ avoid Neil, which seriously was weird ‘cause insects always dodged him inexplicably, so it was impossible for that to be true. Andrew didn't ask any more questions, however. The three of them walked in silence.

It was strange how all the Nature around them seemed to sense their mood; Fakeen was always with her head down, the trees rustled and lost some leaves when they passed, the stones opened a crack, the animals came to watch... It was a series of things. Andrew couldn’t reason what was causing this.

This was probably something an Earthy could do, and between the two, Andrew, with the skill forgers, was as close as possible to an Earthy, but his connection to that element was too limited and weak to really cause something like that.

His head was stuck in it when Neil took a deep breath and ran a hand over his forehead. It didn't take a genius to know he was sweating. The day was hot, Andrew could tell even though he couldn't feel it, and Neil was wearing that pile of clothes. It was obvious he was sweating. Andrew moved his fingers and a cold breeze blew Neil, who shuddered but did nothing more.

It was only when they stopped to rest, in a clearing of low grass, where they could sit on the ground without being covered, that Neil sighed and directed his first look to Andrew of the day.

“Do you think there are plants that I can use, um, on my skin?” He asked.

“I'm not an expert on this, as you might imagine, but I'm sure there must be something.”

“Matt once spoke about a plant, aloe vera, that has all these healing, antipyretic, anesthetic and anti-inflammatory properties, maybe it can be useful, right?”

Andrew frowned and tightened his jaw.

“Maybe. What do you want that for?”

Neil bit the inside of his cheek, looking apprehensive. He looked down.

“I've been thinking, and I think it's not pleasant for people to see my scars all the time, you know? I could look for some efficient treatment, or at least  _ mostly _ efficient, to remove or hide it, I don't know...”

Andrew's chest tightened, and he thought he should have removed all the air out of the motherfucker they found in the tavern. He couldn't change the past, but he had an eidetic memory that reminded him perfectly of the person's face, so maybe it wasn't too late yet...

“No.”

“What?” Neil looked up doubtfully.

Andrew couldn't elaborate, he wasn't good with words, feelings and shit. Instead of talking, then, he sat up and tugged at his sleeve until it reached his elbow, showing his arm to Neil.

“What? Is your arm magical?” Neil rolled his eyes.

“Look closely.”

He did, and when he saw it, he startled. Despite the wide eyes and the obvious concern on his face, Neil didn't ask anything. Andrew appreciated that, even though he was already about to tell about it anyway.

“ _ Everyone _ has scars. My mom abandoned me, you know that... Yeah, so, an Airy kid can't exactly walk around in different territories alone, so I was chased a few times to be taken back. I hated it, being an Airy, being like  _ her _ . I blamed  _ everything _ on that fact, so sometimes I would try to pluck all the feathers that appeared on my skin during the involuntary metamorphoses of puberty. It didn't work, as you may know.”

Andrew shrugged, and Neil was looking at him as he bit his lower lip.

“Can I hug you, Drew?” He asked.

After a few seconds with an incredulous look on his face, Andrew did nothing but nod. Neil's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and he buried his face in Andrew's shoulder.

“If I had been there, I would’ve put all of your pieces together. I wasn't, though, but I am now,” he whispered.

Andrew's stomach churned and he breathed in an exaggerated amount of air. Neil didn't hold him for long, so as not to make him uncomfortable, and when they parted, Andrew looked deep into his blue eyes to make sure Neil was paying attention.

“This is not the point, it’s not about me. You shouldn't feel bad about the scars because some idiot said some shit. Of course, if it's what you want, you have every right to keep it in your body or not, but as long as it's what _ you _ want, understand? They are your spoils of war, and you are the  _ only one _ who should have any power over them,” Andrew said, hoping his words were making any sense. “Don't feel bad about it.”

Neil pursed his lips and looked everywhere on Andrew's face except his eyes.

“I'm gonna try,” he nodded, even with a little uncertainty.

Andrew remained silent, leaned on his hands and lifted his head, looking directly at the sun above them. Maybe if he looked enough, his eyes would burn and he wouldn't need to see how adorable Neil was with his cheeks flushing and his hair starting to grow long enough to fall into his eyes.

When the vixen came running to them after eating, they got up and went back to the road.

~~~~~~

They were almost at their destination, and Neil knew it from the way he was becoming more and more fidgety as the water approached. Unfortunately, it also made him think more about the time he was in the ocean with his mother. They weren't always good memories, but every time he remembered something, he immediately told Andrew, and that earned them some interesting discussions about the differences between the sea and the land.

That day, they stayed up late talking about the best marine species to use the skills in a fight. Andrew knew practically nothing, obviously, but, after a quick explanation, he chose shark just because of the ‘scary energy,’ as he said. Very predictable and bland. Neil tried to explain how it would be relative depending on the situation and that many other animals were better than sharks, but he didn't change his mind.

The argument was long enough for Neil to fall asleep in the middle of it, and Andrew sighed heavily before taking him into a room and carefully putting him to bed.

But that night wasn’t nice.

A few hours later, all Neil felt was dread and pain. He was out of breath and hot tears were falling uncontrollably from his eyes that were narrowed until they almost hurt. He couldn't scream or do anything other than squirm and cry, trying to breathe and failing every time. Despair was like a heavy, devastating scream inside his brain and it was the only thing he could really think about.

Neil woke up in a leap and grabbed the covers until he almost tore the fabric. He was panting and covered in sweat, trying to stop the incessant tears as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up to walk to the bathroom. When he looked in the mirror, he shuddered and almost lost himself in memories when he saw the scars printed on his skin. Neil was crying again before he knew it. He stripped off his clothes and went under the cold shower spray, hoping the water would wash him out completely.

It was not so useful, however.

He was still shaking when he came out, and obviously he wasn’t thinking clearly if the next thing he did indicated anything.

When Neil got dressed again, he grabbed a sheet and pillow from his room and walked to the room where Andrew was sleeping. He hesitated before entering, but did so after a long sigh and a light push on the half-open door.

Andrew was sleeping quietly, his chest slowly rising and falling being the only sign that he was still alive. He was handsome and confident, making Neil sigh dreamily.

He wouldn't come in without permission, so he stood under the doorframe.

“Andrew,” Neil called, softly. “Hey, Drew…”

The sheet rustled when the blonde moved on the mattress, lifting his upper body over his elbows and blinking hard while trying to look at Neil. As he slowly awoke, Neil held the pillow tightly against himself.

“What happened, Josten?” Andrew asked.

Neil rubbed his eyes, trying to stop them from burning.

“I had a nightmare,” he sighed. “I just wanted to know if I can sleep here on the floor. I don't want to be alone.”

Andrew looked intently at him up and down. Neil bit his lip as he waited for an answer, changing positions a million times because he couldn't stand still.

He was surprised when Andrew sighed and lifted the sheet, waving Neil to climb on the bed, under the extended blanket. He did, trying to stay as far away from the blonde as possible. For a moment they just lay in silence, facing each other and breathing softly.

“There are these places, in the ocean, called abyssal zones… They can be between two and six thousand meters deep, with very high pressure, low light and low temperatures. Not all living things are able to survive there,” Neil said, sighing. “Even if you go through metamorphosis for some species adapted to these regions, it is still difficult, because these are scary and dangerous places.”

He didn't know Andrew was paying attention, to be honest. Not until he murmurs, encouraging him to continue. Neil took a deep breath.

“When we were on the run, my mom and I hid in the abyss a few times. The first few times I was very young, and it was traumatizing, but she said it was more  _ useful _ , so she always did it again whenever we were under any  _ ‘big threat’ _ or whatever shit she thought,” Neil was crying again. “The metamorphosis for the abyssal creatures was painful, because these creatures are monstrous, they have brutal and powerful instincts, I was always afraid of being trapped or something like this. I don't know, I’m not able to say all the things that scared me about it.”

Andrew waited a while, until the auburn-haired man calmed down, and covered him with the sheet. They lay in silence under the covers. Andrew waited until Neil was asleep before finally closing his eyes again.

From that day on, they always occupied one and the same room whenever night fell and tiredness hit them.

It was nice and warm.

~~~~~~

Neil almost felt his own soul leave his body when they found a ford in the middle of the forest.

Seriously, he screamed and jumped, startling both Andrew and the vixen, who were still accompanying them.

The place where they stood was full of trees and calm, except for the low sound of the water running through the rocks. It wasn't much, but it was still more natural water than Neil had seen in the past few days, so it was a fair reaction. He ran and almost forgot to stop to take off his shoes and climb the hem of his pants so it wouldn't get wet.

Fakeen, when she realized they were going to stop a little, ran into the forest and went to look for food. Andrew dropped the backpack close to where Neil had thrown his’ and walked with his hands in his pockets close to the water, but still far enough away not to get wet.

Neil was forming water bubbles and lifting them to pop over his head, laughing like an idiot every time his clothes got even wetter.

“You should come here,” he said, when he saw Andrew standing nearby.

“I don't go around grabbing any opportunity to soak my clothes like you do,” Neil raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, and when he tried to speak, Andrew stopped him, “I know you're going to say some stupid shit. Just don’t.”

Neil smiled and shrugged. He waved his hand and splashes of water flew up to Andrew.

“ _ Oops? _ ”

“Josten, you suck.”

“What? But I didn't do anything,” he said, shooting more water in Andrew.

“You're getting me wet.”

“Am I?” More water.

“Really.”

This time he poured even more water. Andrew rolled his eyes and gave Neil a cold look, making a gust of wind hit him and knock him back. Neil stumbled and fell into the water, his eyes widening.

“Fuck, you don't know how to play,” he laughed.

“Fuck you.”

Neil raised his hand and a piece of water floated up to Andrew and literally pulled him into the water. Andrew fell next to Neil, who laughed at the scene. Both were now very much wet.

“Josten, I can't believe you did this shit.”

The expression on his face was one of complete irritation. They rolled into the water as Andrew jumped on top of Neil and the redheaded frantically tried to escape the attack.

Because of the enthusiasm and the contact with water, the scales oscillating on Neil's skin became totally apparent to anyone who wanted to see it. They were navy blue and formed a perfect match with his eyes, both shining in the golden sunlight and reflecting Andrew's face.

Somehow they managed to get to their feet and started running across the rocky surface. Neil repeatedly shouted that Andrew was cheating because he insisted on pushing the auburn haired one with gusts of wind. When Neil tried to fight back, convincing the river frogs to go after Andrew, the blonde just shot all of them back in Neil's face. Fortunately, no animals were injured.

They ran in circles trying to escape from each other, and if anyone asked, they wouldn't even know why. It just… seemed fun. Neil was almost breaking up with laughter and Andrew couldn’t help but smile too.

The problem was, however, when Neil lifted his fingers and started tickling Andrew's belly, who leapt away like a cat and rolled into the water until he was even more soaked. Neil was laughing so hard that he had to sit and bend over to hold himself and try to breathe properly. He didn't stop laughing even after a few minutes.

Andrew got up and walked to sit next to him until his face was inches from Neil's. It was, at the very least, hilarious the way he stopped immediately and swallowed, looking at the blonde in front of him with restless eyes.

“You’ve got me all wet, Josten... What am I supposed to do about it?” Andrew did nothing more than whisper, since the short distance between them meant he could do that.

Neil was about to answer that he could just dry off with a hot breeze, as he had done every other time he got wet, but Andrew's smirk said that question was something else. Neil swallowed again.

“I... I don't know, but I hope something I like?” He said, suddenly blushing.

“Why?”

“Because I know I look like a person you could really like to beat the shit out or something, so... I'm just trying to be optimistic about my chances.”

Andrew hummed, studying Neil's face and looking him in the eye with a nerve that he didn't even know where it had come from.

“Actually, you look like someone I’d very much like to kiss,” he said lightly.

Neil's eyes widened for a while. He bit his lip as he held Andrew's gaze as if searching for something. It was impossible to resist the urge to lower his gaze to Andrew's lips, and even more to lick his own while doing so.

“You look like the only person I’d like to kiss.”

Andrew was taken aback by this. He considered his options for a few seconds. Pull Neil to him and kiss him as he wanted to do for a while now — and nothing would stop them, because Neil apparently wanted it too —, or ignore everything, get up and go on with life as if nothing had happened.

The last option could avoid a hell of possible future embarrassments, since they were traveling by themselves (except for the vixen) and the last thing either of them needed was a strange climate hanging over them.

Andrew could avoid  _ a lot of headache _ if he just didn't do it, if he just avoided or ignored Neil.

This alternative would be easier, more prudent, even.

But to the hell if, for the first time in his life that Andrew really  _ wanted  _ something, he would try to follow prudence and ease. He didn’t do this nor usually, much less in this situation.

Andrew looked into Neil's eyes, and they were sparkling in that way he always remembers. In the way he loved. He would never be able to find another beautiful color, not when that intense blue was etched in the back of his mind. Neil's lips looked so soft and sweet and Andrew was so close that all he could think about was to get closer and confirm if they really were what they looked like.

He was going crazy, it was the only possible alternative. Neil was driving him crazy.

Just when he thought that, the auburn haired man looked at Andrew's mouth and licked his own, slowly, leaving his lips parted when he finished. Quite a scene, honestly. Andrew swallowed.

“Yes or no, Josten?” He asked.

Neil looked at his golden eyes again, and Andrew's pupils dilated, which made the other one chuckle and blush. The proximity was killing their sanity.

“ _ Yes, _ ” Neil whispered, because it didn't take more than that to be audible.

After a few seconds of locked eyes, Andrew raised a hand and used it to put Neil’s auburn hair behind his ear, a moment before stepping forward and pressing their mouths.

Neil took a deep breath and brought their bodies closer, however, he was not touching Andrew anywhere but his lips. And now the tongue. The place was quiet again as the only noise they made became the soft sighs between the kiss.

Andrew felt very warm in his stomach, and his limbs suddenly went limp. He had his eyes closed and Neil's scent was so close, strong and characteristic, as if it penetrated all his pores and went straight through his veins, settling there and not intending to leave so soon.

They kissed slowly, softly and sloppily. Andrew was  _ so pissed off _ , because the fucker managed to exceed his expectations with so little, and that was frustrating.

He could feel Neil under the touch of his palm in his hair, and it seemed so little. He wanted more, but he knew the other was holding on. Andrew parted their mouths and pressed his lips together even more, still not opening his eyes. Neil was panting minimally, probably more from the overwhelming sensation than from being, in fact, out of breath.

“You can touch me, Josten,” Andrew whispered.

He heard a surprised sound and didn't have to open his eyes to know that Neil's eyebrows were raised.

“Yes or no, Andrew?”

Andrew opened his eyes, looking confidently at the blue irises when he said, “Yes.”

Neil smiled. He buried his fingers in the blonde's hair and propelled himself forward, his face stuck to the other man's. He straddled Andrew's thighs, holding his hair tightly while biting the other's bottom lip.

Andrew gasped, because things went from zero to ten pretty quickly. Now, more than before, Neil had beaten and exceeded his expectations. It was electrifying and he felt everything as his nerves fried.

With Neil holding him between his teeth, Andrew ran the tip of his tongue over his own upper lip, which caused him to rub against Neil’s as well.

This time the kiss was different, it was something more. As if everything started and ended on that point where their mouths came together. A fight between killing or being killed. It was desperate at the same time it was accurate. And,  _ oh _ , it was definitely hot.

Andrew needed more when he grabbed Neil's waist and held him over his lap, having a better grip to deepen the kiss. Both were feeling the same agitated feeling in the stomach and the skin tingling in every part, especially where they touched. Neil slid a hand through Andrew's hair and moved it down to his neck, holding it with contrasting care with the voracity of his mouth and tongue, which were almost devouring the blonde one. But it was okay, because Andrew was almost devouring him back, too.

And when they parted, it was only because they had to breathe again.

Neil sucked on his cheeks and licked his lips, as if trying to collect any trace of Andrew that was there. Andrew felt something under his stomach.

“ _ Damn, _ ” the auburn-haired one laughed lightly, blinking fast a few times.

They were still in the same position; Andrew's hands tight on Neil's waist as he rested his on the blonde's shoulders and continued to sit on his lap.

“This was a fun activity, let me know if you want to repeat it anytime,” he said again.

“Shut up, Josten,” Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Well, you could—”

The look the blonde gave was enough to make him give up in the middle of the sentence and raise his hands in surrender.

A dragging whimper took the two from the bubble they had created and made them look at the edge of the ford, where their vixen was sitting in place with an expression that bordered on boredom. Probably her yelp was more than just wanting to get their attention, because, whatever was said, it made Neil blush. His scales made one last quick appearance and disappeared for good under the soft skin.

“Fakeen said that we should get back on the road already,” he whispered. “Because we’re close to a village or something.”

Andrew snorted and patted Neil on the thighs to remind him that he was on top of the blonde.

When they were standing on unsteady legs, the vixen went ahead and didn’t even spare a look at them to see if they were following her.

Both Andrew and Neil were silent for the next half of the way. Not out of embarrassment or anything — in fact things were incredibly calm and pleasant — but because they were both lost in thought as they tried to process what had just happened.

That night they still slept in the same bed, and Neil realized that he had never felt so safe and comfortable before.

~~~~~~

“Okay, so, there are no other bunkers available for us, so we will have to look for some other alternative way to spend the nights,” Andrew warned.

“Okay for me,” Neil shrugged. Fakeen whined something. “She said it's okay for her, too.”

Andrew snorted and rolled his eyes at how spoiled that vixen was becoming. Neil would constantly insist that she sleep in with them, which was fine for the first few days, while she slept in the living room or on the bedroom floor, but then one day, just like that, Andrew woke up and Neil was totally pressed against him while cuddling the vixen.

He complained, obviously, but not that it was enough to change anything. And well, he may or may not have started to give pieces of his food to the animal whenever he had the chance. But he still stated he despised the animal.

“We’re not gonna risk missing the opportunity, so we stop at the first reliable spot we find after noon,” Andrew said.

“There's a lake nearby, I can feel it,” Neil inclined his head. “We should go there.”

“In what direction do you think it is?”

“The same as we are following.”

“That's fine, then,” Andrew hummed. “Do you think I can see it if I climb one of these trees?”

Neil looked around them, as if looking for something.

“Yes, if you go up on that one,” he pointed to a specific tall tree. The blonde nodded. “Wait, are you going to climb it all up? It's too high.”

Andrew frowned. “Of course not.”

When Neil looked at him again, the air was lighting up and getting attached to Andrew's skin, forming the luminous wings that he had only seen once again, in Renee.

It was exactly how he remembered, though, but at the same time completely different. There was something more beautiful, more glorious... Or maybe that was Neil's individual opinion, since he and Andrew...  _ well _ ... since they were way more close lately. Literally, physically speaking, more close. The kisses kept happening really frequently, to Neil’s delight.

No, it couldn't be his individual opinion, something was  _ definitely  _ different, but he wasn't able to figure out what.

Andrew's face became thinner and his nose more pointed, while a short plumage appeared on specific parts of his body. The wings were there, white and taking over the entire length of his arm and then some more.

“Close your mouth, Josten. We don't want you to get sick because you swallowed some strange mosquito,” Andrew said, smirking. “I'll be right back.”

He took flight and was quickly hovering at the top of the tree that Neil had indicated, looking carefully for something.

Neil would never admit to anyone that he was admiring how fucking divine Andrew's image was, in a partial metamorphosis, flying over him. But as he was alone, he could think it was incredible and surreal, and that he would  _ never _ get over it.

Or, perhaps, he _ would _ admit it. The urge was big, so he relented.

“You are so beautiful,” Neil said, the moment Andrew stepped on the floor again. His wings went up and the feathers stood up as he was suddenly struck by the words. “Can I touch you?”

Looking at him carefully, Andrew nodded. Neil cupped his hands around the blonde's face, analyzing the details there with hungry eyes. It was so much more impressive up close, and it was under the heat of the touch that Neil found himself faced with the impasse of wanting to say all the things while he couldn't think of anything good enough to say. So he just hoped Andrew could feel it, through the contact between their skins.

Neil's chest was full of warmth and caution as he slowly stroked the other man's face and enjoyed the texture of the few feathers under his fingers.

It was as if the ground under their feet, the trees and even the vixen had disappeared in that moment when it was just the two of them in a private and comfortable bubble.

Andrew let himself be touched, even with how strange it was. After all, it was strange because it was  _ uncommon _ , not because it was _ uncomfortable _ . He took a deep breath and fixed his golden eyes on Neil's blues, and at that moment, it looked like the hardest thing he had ever done, but it didn't stop him, anyway.

Except when they were interrupted by the sound of a branch breaking under the weight of something. _ Someone _ , they realized, when they looked in the direction of the sound.

There was a partially bald person standing in the gap between two trees, staring at them with wide eyes.

Andrew and Neil had exactly three seconds of complete confusion, until they realized, belatedly, that Andrew was still partially metamorphosed. He was quick to hide it, undoing the effect of the metamorphosis, but it was worthless.  _ They were spotted _ .

The moment the person reached out and the ground beneath them vibrated, what saved them was something at high speed that hit the person’s legs. Neil had little time to realize that it was Fakeen, who ran at them.

Andrew took his wrist and gave it a weak tug indicating to run. They quickly grabbed their things and entered the maze of trees. The vixen was quick to follow, but unfortunately so was the person.

“Have you taken any skill forgers recently?” Neil asked, speaking loudly over the noise of the wind.

“Yes, but it's been a long time, I don't know if it will be useful.”

“Better to confirm, then. Think about something. Do something to slow or stop him.”

They were running and going through branches, vines, tall bushes and fallen tree trunks. Andrew rolled his eyes and snorted before making a quick move and directing it behind them. Immediately, a wall of rose’s thorns emerged from the ground they had just stepped on. The person who was chasing them snarled, and that should be a good sign.

However, Andrew  _ shouldn't _ be able to do that. Not even when he took regular doses of forgers he wouldn't be able, so much less now.

Fakeen overtook the two and yelped.

“She said to follow her,” Neil explained. Andrew shrugged, so they followed the vixen. After running a little longer, Neil felt it like a crack under his skin. “She's taking us to the lake.”

“Whatever, as long as she also has an  _ excellent _ plan for when we arrive—” Andrew interrupted his own phrase to hiss.

Neil looked at him in alarm, but was unable to see the reason for the sound.

“What happened?” He asked then.

“Pay attention while you run, Josten,” Andrew tried to deviate from the subject, but he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes when he saw that the auburn haired guy wouldn't give up. “He threw some thorns at us.”

“ _ What? _ ” Neil screamed breathlessly from the extertion, his eyes widening.

“It's nothing, I'm fine. Keep going, I'll fix it when we stop.”

As difficult as it was, Neil would have to accept that, because, in the end, it  _ was _ the best thing to do. They really couldn't stop now, so they would have to wait.

About five minutes later, with a stranger running after them and screaming terrible offenses, they finally saw the lake. And Andrew was right,  _ Neil had an excellent plan _ . At least in the redhead point of view.

“Jump in the water,” he said, only.

“ _ Excuse _ me?”

“Trust me, just jump in the water.”

Obviously, Andrew protested, but it wasn't like they had any alternative, anyway. They speeded up the run, threw their backpacks behind a rock and plunged into the lake.

In the next moment everything was dark, cold and heavy, and Neil remembered that feeling with his life. The partial metamorphosis fell on him the moment he reached the water, and it was like an infinite release. But he didn't have time for that now, because Andrew wasn’t equally relaxed, of course.

Neil's perception showed that they were alone in the lake except for a few small fish that wouldn’t bother them, so he didn’t bother with any spells to ward off dangers, focusing only on keeping Andrew away from the surface long enough for their pursuer to go away.

“Make an air bubble to wrap your head, idiot,” Neil said, swimming up to the blonde.

Andrew was quick to obey and was soon drawing a long breath of air, finally breathing properly.

“Was that your big plan? Jumping into the lake like there's no tomorrow and floating on the water?”

“Exactly.”

“It sucks.”

“You had a better idea?” Neil raised an eyebrow. Andrew rolled his eyes. “Right. So my plan is,  _ yes _ , excellent, since it was the  _ only one _ and it  _ worked _ .”

“We  _ hope _ it works out.”

“It probably will. If we stay here long enough, the person will leave.”

Andrew shrugged (as well as he could under the water) and crossed his arms.

Neil took advantage of this moment of calm to observe himself. He hadn't exactly thought of a species for metamorphosis, because his experience with fresh water was nil, but now he recognized himself as a blue discus, covered with bright blue streaks across the body.

Neil was momentarily taken by surprise, because this time the anatomy of the metamorphosis was different. Every other time he acquired a tail that took the entire lower half of his body — that is why he had had so much trouble with adapting to his  _ legs _ — but now it was different. Both legs were still there, with only the noticeable difference in fins that had formed there — just as in his arms.

“Freshwater metamorphosis is different,” Neil whispered, more to himself than anything else.

He was looking at the skin that had acquired the scaly texture, the fins in ideal places to make his swim smoother and more practical and the blue stripes everywhere. It looked new and different, but at the same time it felt usual and natural.

Neil wasn't going to lie, it was pretty cool, actually. That was why he smiled and shot sliding across the water, swimming in all directions but never moving away from Andrew. He still remembered that the blonde was there and didn’t like the thought of going far away.

“You’re having too much fun, for someone who was being chased just now,” Andrew said. His voice was muffled, because of the air bubble around his head.

Neil laughed and approached him. “Of course I am. It's been a long time since I was able to perform a partial metamorphosis. I'm just enjoying my moment.”

He swam around Andrew, who was still effortlessly submerged, thanks to Neil who was holding him there. It was while doing this that the auburn-haired guy remembered something. He approached Andrew carefully and looked at his face.

“What about the thorns?”

“It's nothing, I told you,” Andrew rolled his eyes.

Neil raised an eyebrow at him and moved closer, taking care to go slowly and Andrew could refuse if he didn't want to. Not only did he accept it, he also stepped forward to find Neil's mouth halfway. As it was Neil who was leading, it was a slow and delicate kiss.

Andrew would never get used to the other man's duality. Just now he was kissing him very carefully and stroking his cheek in a show of affection, but other times he would just climb on Andrew's lap and kiss him as he was going to devour him, with uncontrollable hunger and desire. Not like he was complaining, though.

Neil bit the blonde's lip lightly, playfully, before pulling away still holding his cheek.

“Will you let me see your back?” He asked, whispering and looking at Andrew with concern.

Andrew sighed and moved his arms and legs to turn his back to Neil. The auburn-haired lifted Andrew’s shirt till his shoulder blades and gasped when he saw the small sores along his muscles, red and most certainly painful. Andrew's skin, always so soft and pale, was now adorned with various marks of small holes and scratches.

Neil held up a hand, wanting to touch, but gave up at the last moment.

“How did that happen to you and not to me? I was literally by your side,” he asked instead.

“There was a barrier covering you.”

“What?  _ How? _ ”

“I lifted it up.”

Neil frowned. “You put up a barrier for me but not for you.”

“Yeah, I forgot.”

“ _ Andrew, _ ” was all he managed to whisper. Andrew still had his back to him, so Neil came over and hugged him from behind, leaving a soft kiss on the blonde's cheek. “Let me take care of you, okay? We’ll go to the surface and I’m going to tend to your wounds to make sure they don't become something bad or that the spines are not poisonous. Does that sound okay to you?”

Neil was using the softest voice he could, while whispering in Andrew's ear, since his chin was resting on his shoulder.

“Whatever,” Andrew replied at last, trying to sound nonchalant but couldn’t help to humm in appreciation to Neil’s caresses on his skin.

“I don't want a half-answer. Yes or no?”

“Yes, Josten.”

“Good. I'll go up first and see if we can get out, okay? “

He didn't wait for an answer, swimming to the surface and putting his eyes out of the water first, watching if anyone was around. The only thing he saw was the vixen sitting on the edge of the lake, wagging her tail quietly and clearly waiting for them.

Neil pulled Andrew up too, and they calmly got out of the water. They fell on the grass, exhausted from the run, but Neil was quick to gather his strength and lift his body to a sitting position.

“Fakeen, can you bring the backpacks? They're behind the rock,” he asked. The vixen willingly obeyed and, soon after, returned dragging two bags with her mouth. “Andrew, I'm gonna need you to lie on your belly. I can't reach your back if it’s against the floor.”

Grunting, the blonde took off his shirt, turned and laid his head on his folded arms.

Neil was careful while cleaning the superficial wounds and looking carefully for something more worrying. Andrew hissed a few times when Neil had to remove some pieces of thorn that got stuck, but other than that, he showed no sign of discomfort. When he was finished, he manipulated the lake water to rinse Andrew's back, took the bottle of sage oil from his bag and spread it over his hands, massaging the other man's injured skin with care.

He really hoped that the wounds would not be a serious problem. At least not until they got proper help.

From the other backpack, Neil took off a shirt and tore it into long strips.

“What the fuck?” Andrew looked up in surprise as he heard the sound of clothes being torn.

“We have nothing to cover the deepest wounds, so it’s good that this fabric will do it fine.”

“It has to do with your scars, doesn't it?”

“What?” Neil asked, genuinely, as he shifted Andrew's position to get him to lift and wrap the fabric as best he could.

“You know how to take care of injuries.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, I have a little experience.”

“How was it in Clarenby?” Andrew, sitting where he was, turned his face to gaze at the auburn-haired one.

Neil shrugged. “The same thing, I guess? We used plants or any animal substance that could help. And we always wrapped it up with whatever minimally soft seaweed, or the closest we found,” he sighed. “I’m done here, you can come back to be annoying again.”

He smiled and gave Andrew a quick kiss. Fakeen made a disapproving noise and got an icy look from the blonde, which she deliberately ignored.

Neil got to his feet and walked back to the water as he took off his clothes piece by piece.

“What are you doing?” Andrew asked, frowning.

“Going to swim. Or did you really think that I wouldn't enjoy this lake as much as I could?”

He was completely naked now, and jumped with a fluid motion in the water. Fakeen approached the lake and waited with a restless tail until Neil burst through the surface of the water again. When he did it, he was grinning and overjoyed.

Andrew came over too and sat next to the vixen, who laid her head on his lap and closed her eyes. The auburn-haired man swam close to them and directed a few quick glances at the other man's bare torso.

“Is it a good time to tell you that maybe the clothes I was wearing before are a little torn from the partial metamorphosis I did earlier?”

“Is that why you are naked now?”

Neil smirked. “Um, yeah. I didn't want to increase the damage.”

“He said, after tearing a shirt for no reason.” Andrew answered sarcastically.

“I already said it was to help on your wound.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m concerned that your back could infect or something.” Neil insisted, looking truthfully concerned.

“It won’t happen.” Andrew said decisively.

“Anyway,” Neil rolled his eyes at the man’s stubbornness. “Luckily we are close to the destination, so if it is the case, we can get help there.”

“We are not going to need it.”

Neil rolled his eyes  _ again  _ and splashed Andrew with water. “I really hope we don’t, but if we do, you're not going to be a brat or whatever.”

“We'll see.” Andrew smirked.

Neil scoffed at that, just for good measure.

They kept talking and resting for a long time, and at some point Neil even managed to convince Andrew to go back into the water for a while, even though they kissed more than properly swam.

When they managed to find a place to sleep — a cave, somewhere nearby — Andrew went against all his common sense and cuddled Neil until he stopped shivering from cold. He repeated to himself that it was just to prevent hypothermia, and nothing more. Definitely not because he was becoming a fool for that man.

_ Such a lie. _

~~~~~~

  
Surprisingly, they managed to reach their destination just two days later.

It took a long walk and a few stops to rest — on one of these, by the way, the vixen went out to hunt and came back bringing a dead animal as an offering to Andrew and Neil. Neil was traumatized for life and swore he would never again eat meat — but they did it.

However, their destination, apparently, was a large stretch of sand with the sea stretching a little after all of this.

“Was it supposed to have something in here?” Andrew asked, frowning a little too much.

“Probably. What if we try to walk around and look for something?” Neil shrugged.

“Yeah, there's just one problem.”

“What?”

“ _ That _ is the sea. And  _ this _ ,” Andrew pointed to the thin air ahead of them, “this is the Airies' barrier.”

Neil raised his eyebrows and looked more closely at where the other man was pointing. He, indeed, could see the air distorting and altering if he paid close attention.

“Oh, the barrier you said that controls Thaekar's entry and exit?”

“Yes,” Andrew nodded once, appearing solemn and serious.

“You're an Airy, can't you open it?”

“This is the work of  _ many people together _ , I couldn’t just break it on my own.”

“And what will happen if we pass?”

“We would probably have all the air removed from our lungs by the time we forced it through. And the responsible Airies would definitely feel it the moment the barrier comes in contact with our skin.”

Neil raised his eyebrows again, completely puzzled and worried. But he was really stupid and was starting to get too close, which made Andrew swallow a few times.

“I don't think that will happen,” Neil said.

“Oh, really? And how can you be so sure of that?”

“I just know.”

“And that’s  _ so trustworthy _ ,” Andrew rolled his eyes.

“It is. Because I know  _ very hard _ .”

“Just like the time you thought I was a Spirit?”

“No. Just like I knew you meant protection and security. That was before I even knew what being an Airy meant or that you were one,” Neil winked and smiled smugly.

“You didn't guess the same about Aaron and Nicky. Not even Renee, who is probably the most Airy person alive. Surely that was just a moment of insanity and an accurate guess, not a  _ ‘hard knowing’ _ .”

“Yeah, but I don't want to kiss any of them madly, so I guess that counts for something.”

Andrew rolled his eyes and gave up arguing. Neil was smiling devilishly now and that couldn’t be a good sign in any way.

“Okay, whether you trust me or not, I'm going to get through the barrier,” he continued.

Andrew wanted to do more than just cross his arms and direct a defiant look at the auburn haired one, but he wasn’t in the state of mind to do much more than that. “It would be immensely rewarding if you accompanied me. Like, I would really appreciate it.”

“If you want to die, die alone.”

Neil laughed, despite the other man's cold tone. “Fine, then.”

He moved just an inch to reach the barrier, and Andrew stopped him immediately.

“Josten, if I die because of you, I will be delighted to meet you in whatever fucking place we go to after death and kill you again,” he said, frowning.

“You don’t have to go with me, though.”

“Shush.”

Neil blinked twice. “Okay.”

Andrew's frown turned into a scowl. He startled for a second when Neil's hand intertwined with his, and Andrew looked into the blue eyes.

“Is that okay?” Neil asked.

He didn't respond quickly, taking some time to feel the warmth of the other hand against his and think about it. Finally, he answered, “Yes.”

“Okay. We will cross quickly, so as not to waste time and et cetera,” Neil looked at the vixen beside them shortly after speaking. “Fakeen, I don't think it would be fair to get you through when I have no idea what's on the other side. Is it okay if you stay here?”

The animal yelped, and it dragged a laugh out of the auburn-haired one.

“Stay close, we'll be back eventually,” he said.

When Fakeen confirmed, Neil was extremely quick to hold Andrew's hand tight and cross them through the barrier, which caused the blonde to lose his balance for a while.

“What the fuck?” He hissed, a little dizzy. “You literally gave me  _ no warning _ or preparation  _ at all _ .”

“Yeah, if we died it would be—”

“ _ If we died? _ ” Andrew repeated. Neil smiled apologetically. “Josten, I hate you so much.”

“The more you say that, the less I believe.”

Neil turned to look at the space that stretched out in front of them and froze in place. Curious about his reaction, Andrew followed his gaze to find a kind of spacious cabin right next to the water.

“Was that there when we looked across the barrier?” Andrew asked.

“Definitely not,” Neil was staring. “Unfortunately, that's where we have to go.”

“Says who?”

“I  _ know _ it is.”

Andrew sighed heavily. “I'm gonna need a long rest after all this shit.”

“You can implicate as much as you like, but even if I didn't know this, that cabin is literally the only other possible place where we can go. I don't know if you have noticed that we are in a completely empty place.”

“Yes, and perhaps it has to do with the fact that we are in strictly prohibited territory, protected in an insane violent way.”

Neil looked around dramatically. “I'm not seeing anything insane or violent here, are you?”

“Yes, I am,” Andrew snorted, “A short, unpleasant, stubborn redhead with no sense of danger or self-preservation—”

“Are you going to be arguing all the time? I already gave up waiting to make a big scene during your arrival, mostly because I got tired of listening to the immature discussion,” A third voice said, from somewhere beside them.

Neil was startled and Andrew instinctively stepped in front of him and took up the usual hand-to-hand combat position. 

Standing in front of them, there was a person in a serene position. They had dark hair with a few strands starting to turn gray, eyes so dark it was hard to tell that, in fact, they were blue and very pronounced bones all over their face. They seemed completely unaffected by the presence of the other two men and oblivious to their astonishment.

“Hi,” the person greeted. “I understand that for people from Thaekar this kind of thing is important, so my name is Stuart and my pronouns are he and him.”

“ _ People from Thaekar? _ Where are  _ you _ from?” Andrew frowned.

“Oh, well, this is a complicated question...” Stuart sighed. “You two should accompany me to my cabin, so we can talk properly.”

“You do realize that this is a creepy approach, right?”

“Maybe. But he's here for me, anyway,” Stuart pointed to Neil.

The auburn-haired one had been silent until then, but now, with all eyes on him, he felt pressured to say something.

“You're a Watery, aren't you?” Was all he asked.

“Yes. I'm also your uncle, by the way.”

Andrew raised his eyebrows and Neil studied the man from top to bottom very carefully.

“I trust him, Drew. Not quite, but enough,” he whispered as he turned his head to look at him. “And he isn't lying, after all. I  _ really _ came because of him, I can feel it.”

Andrew frowned at the unknown person, and despite giving all signs of disagreement with absolutely everything they were doing, he remained quiet and shrugged. Stuart evidently ignored this and turned on his heels to walk to the cabin. Before the other two followed, Neil put a hand on Andrew's arm, not holding him, just getting his attention. Andrew turned to him with one of the biggest blank expressions he had ever used.

“Thanks for trusting me. You don’t realize how important it all really is,” Neil said, and leaned down to leave a brief kiss on the blonde's cheek.

He didn't move for a few minutes, just staying in place and looking deeply into Andrew's eyes while they braces themselves for whatever was about to happen.

They accompanied Stuart to the wooden construction after that and had to remove their shoes while they were still on the sand, since it was necessary to cross a shallow section of water to reach the cabin's entrance stairs.

The interior of the place was simple and smelled of freshly cut wood, even if it was a visibly old building. Everything was perfectly organized and it gave Neil a calmer feeling. He sat on the couch, and as much as he insisted Andrew do the same, the other man stood beside him, with both hands in his pockets, and didn't move a muscle.

When they were all organized in the living room, including Stuart, the older man exhaled heavily.

“I don't even know where to start…” He said.

“So you better find out. Soon, preferably,” Neil leaned back against the sofa cushion. “Let me make it a little easier… I woke up in an unknown place, of which I didn't know a single thing, and I had to adapt to situations that I had  _ never _ experienced before. My brain felt like it was completely beaten and all the recent events, before waking up in the forest, had become a blur. However, since the beginning, I was perfectly sure that I needed to come here. You can continue from there.”

“Okay, it's a good place to start,” Stuart sighed. “First of all, the reason you were attracted here is because of our family bond. I may have used a spell to fortify it and make you feel compelled to come, but that was the only possible way to meet you. Your mother and I had an agreement. She would take care of you at sea and I would wait for you here, close enough to land but never really in. She spent her entire life protecting and hiding you. Can you remember that?” He asked, to which Neil nodded. “Right. That was her part, as your mother. Take care of you, make sure you were never in danger. Not  _ real _ danger, at least. I, as her brother, would have to play my part when the time comes.”

Neil was trying to pay attention, but the words seemed so scrambled in his head, and he had so many questions. He chose to start with one of the oldest, which has plagued him since he could remember.

“ _ Why _ were we running away?”

Stuart swallowed and cleared his throat.

“Your father doesn't know about you, Neil. Mary has always told me, since she came pregnant to me, how she  _ bitterly regretted _ what she had done, that it had condemned her entire life and she could feel it. She hated herself intensely because of—”

“ _ Stop, _ ” Andrew's voice was harsh and almost violent.

Neil hadn't realized that he was shaking until then. He wasn’t particularly fond of his mother, but that didn't mean it was any more easy to hear those things knowing that they somehow were about him. Neil took a few deep breaths and crossed his hands over his lap.

“I'm fine, go ahead,” he said.

“Sorry,” Stuart offered, clearing his throat. “Anyway. Your dad doesn't know about you, and your mom couldn't risk anyone else finding out, especially with all the Wateries' magic, it would be too easy for them to notice. And if the information about your existence reached your father... Well, let's just say it would be terrible.”

“Many years of running away without knowing  _ from what _ was equally terrible.”

“No, Neil. Trust me, it wasn't. Not as it could have been,” suddenly, the older man's voice sounded much darker. “But, anyway, both Mary and I knew that there would come a time when you would have something important to do, because Nature does nothing without a purpose, so we had to prepare for it.”

“Is this excessive and exaggerated adoration for Nature a thing for all Wateries or what?” Andrew grunted, but Stuart ignored him for good, and Neil just smirked.

“How do you know so much about my mom? I don't remember seeing or hearing about you once in my life, and she never let me be at least a foot apart, so believe me, I would know.”

“Mary and I had a  _ spell-induced-connection _ that allowed us to always be aware of each other's condition and, occasionally, we would communicate remotely. She was my sister and this is a simple connection spell.”

“She  _ was _ your sister?” Neil's throat was clenched.

This time Stuart extended the silence a little longer.

“Yes. She is dead now.”

The words were heavy, especially with Stuart's harsh tone over them. Yet, Neil wasn’t able to have any reaction. He just stood there, standing still in his seat and keeping silent while his brain absorbed that  _ his mother was dead _ .

“What?” It was the only word he managed to expel.

“Between Thaekar and Clarenby, there are pits that divide the land and the sea. Crossing these pits is extremely uncomfortable because they are directly linked to magma and the deepest layers of the Earth, which means that the temperature in these regions is beyond the limit supported by the sensitivity of any Watery or Earthy. Not only that, but there is also the barrier imposed by the Airies, which is deadly for anyone who tries to cross it without authorization. Before the barrier, it would’ve been possible to use magic to cross the pits without life danger, but not anymore. Mary managed to cross with you to the beach, which is this strip of shallow water where we are now, on pure force of will but she was almost dead when she did so, and her last energies were used to leave you in the forest using the rest of her magic,” Stuart paused, clearly seeing his expression as confused as his nephew's could only be. “Your mother died right after she made sure you were somewhat safe, then she was brought to me by the sea. I did her rite of passage alone.”

Silence washed over the room and no one tried to speak while Neil kept his head down and stared at the wooden floor. He felt it all wash out when Andrew's hand rested for a mere five seconds on his shoulder, but it was enough.

“The forest was uncharacteristically damp the day I found Neil, does that have anything to do with the story?” Andrew, surprisingly, was the one who asked the question.

“Yes. She created a spectrum of water to leave Neil where you found him. Mary never left the beach, which is why the water brought her to me.”

“ _ Why? _ Why was I able and she wasn't?” The auburn-haired man questioned, looking dejected despite everything.

“Oh, Neil, that's the point of it all,” Stuart shook his head. “You are a Spirit, _ that's _ why.”

For a while, everything definitely rocked everywhere and probably tried to hit Neil over the head really strong. He felt it.

Although his only reaction was to sit and blink a lot more times than necessary, internally he was experiencing intense and overwhelming confusion.

“No, I'm not,” was the first understandable, though stupid, thing that came out of his mouth.

Stuart gave him a look that could be anything between pity and sensitivity.

“You've been on the land for a while now, you must have noticed some sign that this is, in fact, true,” the older man said.

Neil began to think hard, however, it was not he who came up with the answer.

“Fakeen is probably the biggest proof of that,” Andrew said. Neil and Stuart both frowned.

“What is a Fakeen?” Stuart asked.

Andrew intentionally ignored him. “She is an earth animal, you shouldn't be able to understand her or, much less, gain such willing devotion from her, but still, you did."

They were silent again.

“And then what? Couldn't Mary and I have been hiding here with you all this time? Because it seems like an excellent idea to me,” Neil was close to anger.

“There was no other way for you to grow in touch with real magic if you weren't raised directly in Clarenby.”

“Why? Why did I _ have _ to  _ ‘grow in touch with real magic’ _ ?”

“Because, otherwise, you would be just like the other Spirits. Those who are trapped in Evermore and condemned.”

Neil frowned. “And what is the difference? I mean, why does it matter?”

“Your mom and I knew that if we did it right, you might be able to take down the Moriyama family, restore order—”

“And then you came up with a plan where I am the centerpiece, made me have a completely miserable life, and, not even for a moment, didn’t it cross your mind that I should know about it?” Neil interrupted Stuart, leaving the man gaping. “From the moment you knew I was going to be born, you thought of me as an important object in your plan and hopefully hoped that I would be okay with that since I had no other choice?"

He didn't wait for an answer, got up from the couch, shaking and clenching his hands, and left the cabin without saying another word.

~~~~~~

When Andrew found Neil, the man was in a secluded spot on the beach, sitting on a sandbar. He looked significantly calm, although it was possible to see that there was still a twinge of something bothering him, under the quiet mask.

Andrew came over and, mentally complaining about getting his clothes wet, sat down next to him. Neil turned his head to look at him but said nothing.

“Stuart said that we can stay in the outer room, which I found is like a smaller cabin outside the main one, but with only one bedroom and bathroom,” Andrew told him. “In case we are going to stay.”

Neil sighed. “We probably are. I may be grumpy but...”

“Whatever you decide, it's fine by me.”

“Thanks,” he put a hand on Andrew's cheek, stroking it. “So did you speak to Stuart?”

“No. Honestly, I don’t really want to ask for information about you that you might not be willing to give, and I highly doubt that Stuart has any information about me. At least I hope he doesn't.”

This managed to get a little laugh from Neil. He let his arms fall to his sides, pulled his legs against his chest and laid his cheek against his knee.

“Maybe he is right, though. They both were.”

“About what?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“I should probably do something,” Neil bit the inside of his cheek. “That part wasn’t what shook me, rather the fact that I felt used by them all this time.”

The blond man remained silent, digging the sand with his hands just to keep himself busy.

“Can I ask you something, Andrew?”

“Go ahead.”

“What were you doing in the forest the day you found me?”

“I don't know, really,” Andrew shrugged. “I don't normally do spontaneous walks around, but that day I just... went for it.”

“I bet you regret it,” Neil chuckled.

“Not really. I mean,  _ most of the time _ I  _ do _ want to tie you up to a tree and leave you there, but not always,” the blonde rubbed the sand between his fingers. “I knew that little bit about Wateries when I met you, but it was quite different to see with my own eyes. Everything was much more complex and confusing... Still, I don't like to think of anyone else finding you.”

“Me neither,” Neil sighed. “And, well, apparently I'm not a Watery, am I?”

“I still think you're the same idiot,” Andrew shrugged nonchalantly. Neil laughed and rolled his eyes. “If you are mad or something, we can just leave.”

“No, I'm not mad. I just needed to think for a few minutes.”

“I'm going to go back inside—”

“No,” Neil called as Andrew was already shifting positions to get up. “I'm going with you, I want to know the rest.”

“You and Stuart should have some privacy to talk.”

“But I don't want to do this alone,” Neil bit the inside of his cheek again. “It's okay, I promise.”

When they got to their feet, they walked back together to the cabin and found Stuart still in the same place where they had left him. The man sighed as soon as he saw them.

“Neil, I apologize for—”

“Just tell me everything, okay? The sooner we get over with this, the better.”

“Fair. I'll start from the beginning this time...”

Stuart took a deep breath only once before letting the words flow. He said that Mary had long ago made the mistake of falling in love with a man who did not have a single fiber of goodness in his body, but she was too distracted to realize this before it was too late. Back in time when all of this happened, there was a group of Wateries willing to ally themselves with the Moriyama family government, willingly helping them make use of the ocean's resources, even though not a single Watery was allowed in Thaekar territory. In one of the meetings of this ‘alliance’ was when Mary met the man who would become Neil’s father.

She didn't think anything would come of it, because, after all, they were of different elements, and only when the problem ( _ i.e. _ a baby she called Neil) was already in front of them did Mary truly regret what she had done. A pregnancy from two distinct elements could only mean one thing. It was from that moment that she started running. Neil could never be discovered or it would certainly have far worse consequences, given what had happened to the other Spirits.

“What about my father?” Neil asked, at some point during the long story.

It wasn't really relevant, but it was something that was arousing his curiosity.

“He's an Airy.”

They did a moment of silence and Andrew narrowed his eyes.

“You said he met Mary at a Moriyama aid alliance meeting,” he said, and waited for Stuart to nod. “What is the involvement of the Airies in all of this?”

“They know what's going on, and it has divided them into two groups: those who offer support to the Fieries and those who remain silent. It has always been that way.”

But Neil knew that Andrew had left Airy territory too soon to know that.

“Why don't they do anything? Why are they silent?” Neil frowned.

“Airies cannot protect what is not in danger,” Andrew responded, however. He sounded like he was just now realizing it. “People don't know that something very wrong is going on, they don't know that Nature is being corrupted and they are being controlled by those in power, so the Airies cannot do anything if people think they are safe.”

Neil was involuntarily jaw dropping.

“This is so fucked up,” he said.

“Yeah. But it is what it is,” Stuart conceded. “At the end of the day, Airies are just guardians, they don't pick up fights out of nowhere and things like that.”

Andrew shot Stuart a sharp, cold look.

“I don't know how true this is, since I'm half a step away from rubbing your face in the sand on the beach to make an amazing and natural face exfoliation,” the blonde said, through his teeth.

“I see. But you have something to fight for,” Stuart said, visibly directing his gaze to Neil.

The only thing the auburn-haired man did was snort what should have been a short laugh.

“Bold of you to assume that he would move a finger for me for anything other than offending me,” he said.

Stuart had that smile in the corner of his mouth when he said, “He would.”

After a long, heavy silence, Neil blushed. He knew  _ he _ would do something like that too, but he wouldn't admit it. Not now, at least.

“How can you be so sure?” Andrew asked.

“Because you are  _ Anam Cara _ , of course.” the older man shrugged.

Both of them spared a moment to look at Stuart with utterly confused looks. When the man stayed silent and didn’t explain what he had meant with that expression, Andrew pressured, “What the fuck?” 

“All Spirits have an  _ Anam Cara _ , while among the individual elements this rarely happens. Basically, it is a very strong and reciprocal affinity. Everyone who experiences this connection is able to understand each other much better than anyone else, as they both know each other deeply even before they actually met. The sensitivity among the souls is complete and incorruptible,” Stuart gestured with his hands as he spoke. As if that should’ve been obvious. “It’s common for you to feel overprotective about each other, or to feel more vivid when you are together, since an Anam Cara can also seek energetic strength in his correspondent. Everything is more powerful for you when you’re together.”

Something popped inside Andrew when some memories surfaced in his mind.

“Whenever I managed to do something that I shouldn't, something that should be exclusively Earthy, was it actually Neil, unconsciously, manifesting his skills?” Although it sounded like a question, it didn't seem like he had any doubts about the answer.

“Well, not exactly. An Anam Cara can only strengthen skills that are already in you, not grant new ones,” Stuart explained.

“Your skill forjers,” Neil reminded Andrew.

Andrew remained calm and thoughtful for a while, but it was not less than suddenly that he became completely agitated. “So, when I met him in the forest, was that somehow bound to happen?”

“Yes, kinda,” Stuart's simple answer was fraught with curiosity.

The blond man took a deep breath and his eyes became prickly. Neil winced at the sudden change, but said nothing. 

When the conversation was completely over, Andrew muttered something incomprehensible and walked away.

~~~~~~

Neil didn’t follow Andrew until the sun went down completely and he was tired enough to have no choice but to go to the outside bedroom that Stuart assigned to them and try to sleep.

He didn't know why the other man had left without saying anything and then spent the rest of the day alone. However, he knew that, whatever it was, it would be better to give Andrew some privacy so he could deal with it on his own terms or at least gather enough willpower to talk about it when Neil approached him.

Unfortunately, that meant that Neil had a rather tedious day. Staying inside with Stuart turned out to be quite a boring activity, so he tried to go outside a little, since, after all, there was an ocean in front of them, and it wasn't like Neil hadn't been looking forward to it for days. 

It was just as tedious, though. He didn't perform a metamorphosis or go deep enough in the water to be able to swim. He just stayed where the water covered up to his knees and tried to distract himself, instead.

When he finally found it safe enough to go to the room, Neil found Andrew the moment he stepped inside the wooden building, sitting on the end of the bed and staring into the empty space while remaining in the darkness of the room.

It was strange, initially, the way he was immobile and with his gaze completely fixed on the wooden wall, facing it as if all the answers were there. Neil would even think Andrew hadn't seen him come in, were it not for the slightest change in his breathing.

They were silent for a while, which ended up generating a slightly embarrassing but fleeting moment. Neil made no effort to turn on the light as he walked until he was positioned in the space between Andrew's legs, looking down at him attentively.

“I'm fine, Josten,” the blonde said dryly.

“I’m not asking anything. And I hope you know that I know you’re not in your most peaceful state of mind. Or as close as possible to a peaceful state of mind for you.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow at him, just before he seemed to remember something and rolled his eyes.

“I'm guessing the reason you know this must have something to do with all that  _ Anam Cara _ crap.”

Neil raised both eyebrows, surprised by the hostility in his voice.

“It does, actually. I talked about it a bit more with Stuart, after you left,” he shrugged. “Is that why you're mad?  _ Anam Cara _ ?”

“I'm not mad,” Andrew frowned. “Distasteful, maybe.”

Neil knelt down, still positioned in the space between the other man's legs, and tried to stay the same height as him, once he noticed that, while Neil was not tall, the bed Andrew was sitting on was low so the difference was evident.

“Do you wanna talk?” He asked.

All Andrew did was roll his eyes and snort before staring at nothing again. He didn't move away, however, and Neil thought that was a good sign.

“Not that it will do any good, anyway. It's not like I have a choice,” the blonde said, still in a harsh tone.

Neil frowned and withdrew a little, still keeping on his knees.

“Is your problem with being  _ my _ Anam Cara?”

Something, whether it was the way Neil said it or the words he used or something else, made Andrew turn to him quickly and purse his lips tightly.

“What? Why would you say that?”

“Because that's what you’re making it look like.”

Andrew opened his mouth to say something, but gave it up and seemed to change his mind halfway.

“It isn't that,” he said at last.

“Okay…” Neil instigated him to continue, looking earnest.

“I'm just upset, Neil, for not having a choice.”

“Choice what about, exactly?” Neil tilted his head doubtfully.

Andrew rolled his eyes again, and from the number of times he had done that gesture in the past few minutes, Neil knew that this shouldn’t be a topic the other man really wanted to talk about, so he was probably making an admirable effort.

“Drew, you don't have to say it if you don't want to, okay? Just tell me if there's anything I can do, and I’ll do it.”

For long minutes, Andrew just looked deep into Neil's eyes, as if he desperately dug for something, anything.

“Why are you like this, Josten?” He asked.

“Like this? How?”

“ _ I don’t know. _ You make me wanna say things,” the blonde snorted and rubbed his hands over his face. “ _ That's _ what I'm talking about.”

Neil was so confused that his head was almost throbbing in pain.

“Andrew, if you wanna say something, you're going to need to be more comprehensible.”

Both were silent now and staring at each other attentively. All Neil wanted to do was come over and hold Andrew's face, reaffirming everything he could. But he would never do that, he knew better.

By the time no one said anything, it really did seem that Andrew was considering what to say, so Neil just allowed him to think in the quiet.

“I just don't want to feel like I have no choice,” was what he managed to say when he finally said something. The auburn-haired man was going to ask something again, but he realized that Andrew wasn't finished and kept silent. “How can I say that I  _ chose _ anything related to you, if everything that involves us is because of that stupid connection?”

“Andrew, it's not like that.”

“Stuart said it himself. All that fucking fate thing or whatever the fuck.”

Neil sighed. On some level, he was relieved that  _ that  _ was the problem. Now he slowly approached Andrew and cupped his face.

“Is it okay if I do this?” He asked, to which the blond man nodded. “Okay. Listen, you didn't stay there to hear the rest, so let me tell you, will you? I asked Stuart a lot of questions.  _ Really a lot _ . And about  _ many _ things.”

“Yeah, I know how you are.”

Neil chuckled. “Yeah. I asked about the whole Anam Cara thing too,” he shrugged. “You are not losing your power of choice or consent because of this. Stuart told me that the only thing that Anam Cara establishes is an intense bond between us, as well as the chance to share some things that we would otherwise not be able to. When he said that ‘fucking fate or whatever the fuck’ was what made us meet, he just made the wrong choice of words. What it really is, is that our bond made you more willingly to stay in the forest that day and wait for me to wake up, nothing else. But, Andrew, do you know what else he told me?”

The other man didn’t answer, so Neil continued to speak.

“The number of people with the Anam Cara connection who are romantically involved—”

“Which we're not,” Andrew signed.

Neil rolled his eyes. “Right. The number of people with the Anam Cara connection who  _ exchange occasional kisses _ is very small. And yet, here we are,” he took a deep breath. “With that or not, Andrew Minyard, you would still be the only person I’d like to kiss. This is not Anam Cara choosing for me. In fact, it can't choose anything for me. Or for you. I promise that you still have complete control over everything you decide to do or not do.”

They remained silent. Finally, Andrew grabbed Neil's shirt and held on tight.

“Nice to know that I can still completely hate you on my own,” he said in a bored tone.

“Okay, keep saying that,” Neil smiled. “It kinda worried me too, even though I knew deep down that I was wrong. That's why I asked Stuart. It would be nice to hear from someone with more knowledge and all that shit,” he bit his lip. “Okay, now I need to get up, my knees are hurting from being here kneeling in front of you.”

Andrew snorted. “Why do you always say the worst things?”

Decidedly ignoring him, the auburn haired man stood up on his feet and threw himself on top of the other man, consequently laying them both on the nice mattress. He wrapped his limbs in the body under his and sank on it as much as he could.

That was, indeed, surprising when Andrew, instead of pushing or complaining, raised a hand and stroked Neil's back. They stayed like that for a while, wrapped around each other in silence, enjoying each other’s presence. 

And, for as shameful as it was to admit, Neil thinks he probably purred at some point.

“What else did you talk to Stuart?” Andrew asked quietly.

“Um, I asked who built this place, because I literally saw nothing on the beach that would make it possible.”

“ _ Of course _ you’ve asked  _ that _ .”

“Yeah. He said the house was built a long time ago, before the barrier, and is preserved and hidden with magic. That's why we couldn't see when we were still on the other side of the barrier, remember?” Neil's voice was sounding a little funny, since his cheek was completely pressed against Andrew's chest.

“Makes sense.”

Neil shifted his position and placed both hands stacked and pressed on Andrew's chest, then placing his own chin on the back of the hand that was on top

“Yeah. I also told him about Fakeen. By the way, I let her know all the news earlier today. Stuart said she is my  _ familiar _ ,” he said.

“I think I've heard about it before but I'm not entirely sure what it is.”

“Familiars are companion spirits or animals that accompany a person worthy of their recognition or sharing of feelings. Each familiar has a person suitable enough for them, a person with whom the further development of a bond will be possible. That's why, even with all those animals watching us in the forest, Fakeen was the only one who really approached. She is my familiar and I’m her person. It was something that would’ve happened sooner or later, inevitably.”

Andrew hummed in acknowledgment. “Is this a Spirits thing, too?”

“No. Anyone can have a familiar. Everything depends on their connection with the elements and things like that.”

“Once again you and this obsession with Nature”

“Do you think this is because I’m a Spirit?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“Unlikely. I think it's because you're an idiot.”

“Thank you.” Neil smiled.

“Whenever you need it,” Andrew nodded earnest. “So, what are the notable differences between a Spirit and those of individual elements?”

“I asked about it. The only thing Stuart answered was that you can tell by our eyes. That is the main feature.”

Andrew positioned himself to have a better view from Neil, and after long seconds of staring at him, he placed a streak of auburn hair behind his ear.

“That's true,” the blonde said.

“Um, how can you be so sure?”

The hand Andrew was using to caress Neil's back went up until he gently clutched his locks of hair, now stroking that place.

“I always thought your eyes were  _ too deep _ , and maybe at one time or another I felt like I could see the whole world through them. It was always different, it was always more.”

Neil's cheeks flushed and he no less than melted in place, lying on top of Andrew.

“Um, following that logic, you too would be a Spirit. From my point of view.”

“No.”

“What? Are you invalidating my opinion?”

“Yes.”

“But—”

“Honey, I'm just smoke and air. Don't really expect me to believe that.”

Neil shook his head. “What does that make me, then?”

Andrew sighed, slid his hand up to Neil's chin and pulled him in for a quick but pleasant kiss.

“You would probably be the stars or something stupid like that, that I blatantly refuse to say.”

Neil chuckled and gave him another kiss. Within seconds, they became a mess of gentle touches, soft kisses, and whispered words. The room was still dark, but not quite, since the moonlight came in through the window and illuminated them in all the right places. Neil hugged Andrew again and pressed his ear to his chest, listening to the blonde's steady, calm heartbeat. Andrew, on the other hand, never stopped stroking Neil's hair and back.

“I asked a lot of other questions but nothing really interesting. I was just trying to pass the time,” Neil started playing with the fabric of Andrew's shirt, “you know, since my adventure partner abandoned me all day.”

“Adventure partner?”

“Yes. Liked that?”

“Not really.  _ ‘The guy who constantly keeps me from dying’ _ seems more appropriate.”

Neil giggled and gave Andrew a light push, pretending to be annoyed.

“It's not like this.”

“Sure. I'll pretend that I believe you.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

Andrew just made a noise and dismissed him with a slight wave of one hand.

“There is one thing I wanted to ask you, since we are on the subject of ‘adventures’ and this shit,” he said.

“Um... What is it?”

“What are we going to do next?”

The question made Neil go completely still, and the blonde intensified his caresses, to calm him down from whatever it was.

“I was just thinking,” Andrew continued speaking. “Our goal was to get here, right? Well, we did that. Now what?”

Neil hummed. “Don’t know. I mean,” he cleared his throat, “Stuart said a lot about this whole plan he had with my mom, and as much as it pissed me off, this thing about feeling used and everything, I think they're right, you know? I should do something. And honestly, I don't think I would be able to live knowing that I had this possibility in my hands and that I decided to ignore it.”

“So are you going to do something?”

“I guess.”

“What?”

Neil sighed. “Honestly? Still don’t know. But I think it's kinda obvious, isn't it? Go to Evermore Castle and, I don't know, take down the Moriyama family.”

“Is that your big plan? To end a family that has been in power for years and has an influence over not just one, but apparently three elements?”

“Yes.”

Andrew looked frustrated, angry, tired, upset, exasperated and a good deal of other things, all in a single fraction of a minute. Still, what he said was, “Fine. How are we going to do that?”

“ _ We? _ ”

“That's what I said, Josten.”

“No. You can't be a part of it this time.”

“And why’s that?”

“For a lot of reasons. Especially since I don't want you to take any risks.”

“Let's save your speech, shall we? I'm going and that's it.”

“But what if—”

“Save your speech.”

“Andrew, I—”

“ _ The speech _ .”

Neil grimaced and lifted his head from where he was lying — on Andrew's chest — to face the other man. He realized that he couldn't really change anything, so he sighed and lay down again.

“Whatever, anyway, we will only leave here when your back is better from the thorn wound. We were lucky that it wasn’t poisonous.”

“But it can take days.”

“So? There is a perfectly nice sea right up front, which I can fucking enjoy very much, thank you.”

Andrew put another strand of auburn hair behind Neil's ear while he thought silently.

“This is kinda funny, don't you think? All of your obsession with the ocean, even being a Spirit.”

“Not that much. Don’t forget that I spent my whole life in the water. It was where I grew up, developed and learned everything,” Neil shrugged as much as he could in his position. “And it's not like I prefer water, though. I had great experiences with all the other elements too, even if unconsciously.”

“Have you tried? Use the other ones, I mean.”

As soon as Andrew finished saying that, Neil chuckled and showed it to him. Cold air ran through Andrew's body at the same time as the candle on the nightstand lit and a flower appeared through the window. ( _ Flos Pavonis _ , Neil acknowledged.)

“I wanted to swim all day, be on the move. But I discovered that it isn’t the same thing to do this alone, so I sat on one of the rocks on the beach and started trying to talk to Nature...”

“Of course you did that,” Neil didn't have to look up to know that Andrew rolled his eyes.

“...Turns out that I discovered several cool things. For example, did you know that my abilities for most elements were ‘blocked’? That’s why the demonstrations were less noticeable. I needed to connect with each element individually to— are you listening to me?”

“No, I think I slept in the middle of the monologue,” Andrew replied, monotone.

Neil took a deep breath. He couldn't help but laugh, though.

“You are awful, Andrew. Literally the worst,” Neil said, while laughing.

“Yeah, I know,” the other man hummed. “Are you sleepy?”

“I was. Not anymore, however.”

“Do you wanna go outside?”

At that moment Neil had to lift his head and look deeply into Andrew's eyes. “For what?”

“Don’t know. You are just there telling me how your day was completely frustrating and tedious and everything else, so get up, move your ass into the sea water and we will solve this.”

As much as he wouldn't admit it, it cheered Neil up. In a leap, he was on his feet, his eyes shining and waiting for Andrew to join him. 

They walked to a secluded part of the beach, a little far from Stuart's cabin but without really losing sight of it, and settled on a rock that was almost at sea level.

The sky was dark and, consequently, the water too. The breeze that hit them was cold and agitated, so it made some handfuls of sand fly towards them. None of this, however, prevented Neil from, in the moment they reached the right point, taking off his clothes without any warning and walking calmly towards the water.

He could feel the wind hitting his bare skin, but it wasn't like it affected him now as it affected before. Not since he settled things with the air element just a few hours before. Now he could feel it, but the temperature had exactly zero effect over him.

Neil positioned himself and jumped gracefully into the water. The partial metamorphosis of marine species was already completely natural for him, so he didn't have to concentrate much while his body absorbed the impact of the water and completely modified it to adapt to the environment.

This time, unlike in the lake, he developed a tail, as was the case for partial metamorphoses in salt water. It was long, brightly colored in orange and blue and had some fins along its length. It was something like a bright blue background, with swirly orange stripes plus some blue-greenish with bold blue stripes. It also had some light-reflecting cells, which made everything look even better, even in the low moonlight that night presented.

He dived, jumped over the surface of the water, swam as fast as he could, spun and did everything he could in quick succession. Without him noticing, Andrew had approached and was standing on the same end of the rock from which he had jumped, watching him with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Feeling great?” He asked.

“Something like that,” Neil smirked. “Will be better if you jump in here with me.”

Andrew snorted and shook his head. “I'm not the best swimmer and you know that.”

“What? But I taught you a little bit at the lake.”

“Yes, but not enough.”

“I, in particular, think you were amazing.”

“A pity for you, then.”

Neil grimaced, but then smiled playfully. “Well, I can always hold you, if you come in.”

“No,” Andrew said without a second thought.

“Okay then.”

Still with the same smile on his face, Neil slowly moved away from the stone and hit his tail hard in the water only one time, consequently making a big wet and cold sneeze hit Andrew.

“What the fuck is your thing with getting me wet whenever you get the chance?” The blonde asked, cursing under his breath.

“I don't know, I think I pretty much enjoy the view?”

“Awful, Josten. Just awful.”

All Neil did, however, was to float on the water and let it take him, pretending not to have heard what Andrew said. He put his body in a horizontal line, facing the sky, and felt the moonlight cover him. That was fine, just fine.

Neil felt more than he actually saw Andrew's intense gaze on him, but said nothing. He closed his eyes and just let it happen, because he knew it was the first time Andrew had seen him partially metamorphosed in that way, which was quite different from the lake. It took long minutes for the analytical gaze to penetrate every layer of his skin, and he felt goosebumps at that. When he finally opened his eyes again, he met Andrew's golden gaze, shining in pure fascination.

“What?” Neil asked.

The other man did not answer, however. They had a quick glance, before Neil swam again until he was close to the rock, and Andrew dropped to one knee just to sort of match their heights. He also lowered his face as if he wanted to approach Neil, so the latter spread his hands on the surface of the stone and struggled to lift his body. Now they were level, and their faces were very close.

“I'm frustrated that you really look like a pipe dream, Josten.”

Neil giggled. “Thank you?”

Andrew hummed. “Yes or no?”

As soon as Neil answered a low, breathless  _ yes _ , he slowly approached and pressed his lips against the other’s. They shared a calm and gentle kiss, more a caress between the two mouths than their intimate confusion of tongues.

“Wait, wait,” Neil interrupted. “I don't like it, I don’t get to touch you and my arms are hurting a little from forcing my body up.”

Andrew shrugged and stepped away.

“Okay, nothing for you, then.”

“But that's not fair,” Neil pouted. (He did that quite a lot, to be honest.) “Stop being annoying and get in here.”

“If you had asked politely, I could think.”

“You are just dramatic.”

“Fuck you.”

Neil laughed and shrugged. Andrew rolled his eyes, sat on the rock, took off his shoes, threw his legs into the water and pondered for long seconds before throwing the rest of his body equally. He clung to the stone at the beginning, until Neil made a single movement that made the water keep Andrew in place, making sure he stayed on the surface even without swimming.

“You’re okay, I got you,” he said to the blonde.

When they got close again, Andrew transferred his grip to Neil's waist, who rested his arms on top of his shoulders. This time they kissed fiercely enough to become a jumble of teeth, lips, tongues, touches…

A shiver ran through Neil's body when Andrew accidentally brushed one leg over his tail (because the blonde was still trying to swim, after all). It was not a direct contact with the skin, since Andrew was still wearing clothes, but tails are sensitive areas, so even the smallest touch was already noticeable.

For a long period of the night, they did nothing more than chat lazily and exchange a few kisses. If Neil needed to be honest, it was even surprising that Andrew hadn't complained about spending so many hours soaking in the water, but he wasn’t going to complain either.

~~~~~~

It was to be expected that, after days of walking for hours and having only a short time of rest, they would be tired and would take the opportunity to sleep and be quiet the moment they had the chance to stop for a while.

_ But that was not what happened. _

Even after a day of walking, a troubled afternoon with new and heavy information and a night spent playing and kissing at sea, they were both very much awake when they decided it was already time to go back to the cabin.

They came out of the water and Neil immediately undid the metamorphosis effects. 

Neil was still naked, and of course that detail didn’t escape Andrew's eyes. Neil never appeared to have a problem with nudity — even though the only person to see him completely undressed was Andrew —, but he had already noticed the other man's embarrassed reactions more than once, so he was always quick to hide in whatever way he could.

So he reached out and made the clothes, abandoned distantly on the sand, fly up to him. He thought that this time it would be the same and he didn’t want to make Andrew feel embarrassed. Not at all.

This time, though, before he could get dressed, Andrew stopped him with just a _ look.  _ One that he couldn’t quite explain based on anything but what it did to Neil immediately. He froze in place completely, with his clothes halfway to his body. And, not for even a second, did Andrew break their eye connection as he took the shirt from Neil's hand.

“Don't dress,” he said, in a low tone.

The auburn-haired man swallowed and inhaled a sharp breath as a long shiver ran through his body. Recovering from the momentary exaltation, he spontaneously offered Andrew the other clothes he had in hand and remained standing and naked in place.

For the first time, Andrew thought he saw Neil blush for what was supposed to be his first dose of extreme self-awareness.

To spare him minimally, because he was feeling rather kind today, as it had become more than visible, Andrew wrapped the long fabric of the shirt around Neil's hip, just enough to cover the necessary parts and, with a firm grip, he pulled it as he walked back to their room. Neil, of all things, mewled and tried to hide it with another sharp inhalation.

They walked back in silence, but the two were more likely to have some sort of minimal notion of what was happening — or about to happen.

If don’t, everything went clear the moment they entered their outer room and, in succession, Andrew released the shirt that covered Neil's hip, dried them with a warm breeze and closed the door behind them.

Neil swallowed once, licked his lips and then bit them, standing under the silver light that came in through the open window.

“ _ Andrew, _ ” his voice was nothing more than a whimper.

The blonde walked slowly towards him, demanding that each cell of himself were patient and gentle with the other man.

“Yes, Neil?” He whispered, after bringing the two faces parted by only mere inches.

He remained with his eyes fixed on the deep blue irises as he raised his hand, slowly, with enough time to take it back if necessary, until he grabbed both sides of Neil's waist, who almost melted under the touch and stepped forward, looking for more proximity.

“I— Um,” he said, and licked his lips again. “I’m feeling a pressure, below my… below my belly.”

Andrew hummed, and moved a finger to trace slow circles across Neil's bare skin.

“Are you, sweetheart? Tell me about it, yes?”

Neil whined and closed his eyes, parting his lips to let out a dragged breath.

“Yes,” he stammered a little. “Right— right. It's like my stomach suddenly turns upside down, and it causes a mild— mild chill that makes my skin  _ crawl so good _ ,” he struggled to allow his voice to sound understandable.

Andrew, who was busy touching the other man's soft flesh slowly, stopped what he was doing and placed two fingers under Neil's chin.

“Sweetheart, will you look at me while you speak?” He applied a light pressure to level the height of their faces. Neil slowly opened his eyes and his pupils instantly expanded, losing themselves in lust. Andrew suspected he himself was the same. “Can you tell me more about what you're feeling? Look into my eyes while doing so.”

This time, before waiting for the other man to speak, he brought his mouth up to Neil's jaw, caressing the skin of the place with his lips. In response, he got an intense shake and a slightly louder groan.

“These sensations don't just stop in my belly, they—  _ Hah _ ,” he whined, “they also go down.”

“Down?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, trying to look genuinely curious, although he already knew all that.

“Yes.”

“Down where?”

“Um, down to—” Neil stopped. He was silent for a few seconds, and then his face lit up in recognition. “ _ Oh. _ I got it.”

“You did?” Andrew asked, this time wetting his lips. Neil's eyes dropped instantly to look at the gesture, and he nodded dumbly. “Wanna see if you really got it, darling?”

“Yes.”

With the affirmative answer, Andrew pressed his mouth over the curve of Neil's neck and bit lightly, before easing it with a suck and a lick. Neil trembled and groaned under him.

“Again, Andrew,” he managed to whisper.

Firming his grip, the blonde lowered his lips until they were on the other man's chest. He did it again, more rough this time. Bite, suck and lick. Neil whimpered again, arched his body and threw his head back a little.

If Andrew's hard cock was already clearly noticeable under his pants, Neil's was much more, since he was completely naked. They both shivered with realisation.

They kissed again, lips to lips and a dispute for dominance that ended very easily with Neil melting and surrendering willingly to Andrew after only a few seconds. The kiss was hot, slow and sloppy, leaving a mess of saliva in their mouths, as well as red and swollen lips. Andrew allowed a low groan to reverberate and slide down Neil's throat, making him shiver even more and come that barely existent inch closer, their body totally glued from head to toe now.

“You can touch from my waist up,” Andrew was slightly out of breath as he spoke against Neil’s lips.

Without any loss of time, fingers clung tightly to his hair, while a warm hand slid up his back, clutching his shirt so hard it could tear it apart.

Neil pressed his lips to the other man's so hard it hurt briefly. He also gave little repeated tugs to the fabric of the clothing between his fingers.

“Do you want something, Neil?” Andrew asked, close to his earlobe.

He knew what to expect, and he knew the answer that was coming, but he had to ask the same way, because he needed to hear, he needed it to be verbalized and consented.

“Yes, I do,” Neil replied.

“What is it?”

The auburn haired bit the inside of his mouth and flushed. “Um— I want that…” He flushed some more and pursed his lips.

“You can tell me, sweetheart,” Andrew pressed two kisses to Neil's jawline.

“I want— Can you take your shirt off?”

Andrew's smile was brief as he nodded. “Yes, I can.”

He did as suggested and, separating from Neil for a few seconds, pulled his shirt over his head. The cloth was tossed on the floor and completely forgotten as they faced each other again.

Neil surveyed the blonde's now exposed torso, and it was impossible to ignore the raw, burning desire shining in his eyes. He held up a hand and waited until Andrew nodded to place it on the heated skin of his abdomen.

“I don't think you get to know enough about how beautiful you are,” Neil whispered affectionately as he slid his fingers as if tracing small designs on the other man's chest. “Do  _ you _ want something, Drew?”

As soon as the question was made, Neil buried his face on the curve of Andrew's neck, kissing the place willingly and sometimes sucking it, but it was a touch so light that it looked more like he was just trying to occupy his mouth than to actually provoke or something similar.

Andrew buried his fingers in Neil’s hair and pushed lightly, to press his mouth a little more against his own neck. The auburn-haired man's lips parted slightly to accommodate more skin, and now he started to add his tongue to the slow sucks he performed.

“I do. I want to blow you, Neil,” Andrew said, ever so bland. “Yes or no?”

Neil pulled a huge breath of air through his nose and blew it all out at once through a long moan that reverberated on the skin of Andrew's neck, which he returned with a tight grip that might have left marks on Neil’s hip.

“ _ Yes _ , yes to everything,” Neil murmured.

“Except when it’s no.”

“Yeah, but it's always yes with you.”

“Don't come with this ‘always’ to me.”

Neil shrugged, still occupied with Andrew’s neck. “Don't ask what you’re not ready to hear.”

Andrew snorted and rolled his eyes, but in the next moment he tugged at Neil’s hair and kissed Neil's mouth, grabbing both of his bare thighs and lifting him firmly. 

Stunned by the sudden change, Neil's eyes widened, but he was quick to position himself and wrap his arms around Andrew's neck and his legs around his waist, losing himself again in the kiss.

They moved a few steps until everything rocked and they both fell on the bed, which disrupted the kiss but Neil was quick to occupy his mouth again with Andrew's exposed neck.

“What's your thing with necks?” The blonde asked, when his breath caught in his throat.

Neil's only response was to look at him with a smirk and stick out his tongue to lick Andrew's skin. “You like it.”

They only exchanged kisses for a while, which wasn't exactly bad because, in the position they were in — Andrew on top and between Neil's legs — it was possible for them to rub their hips while kissing, and that provided a friction which quickly left Andrew's cock pulsing and aching within the restraint of his pants.

Neil, on the other hand, was already completely naked and it was very possible to see the way he was leaking precome. He had increased the intensity of his moans, which had started as being somewhat shy and were now completely erotic.

“Andrew—  _ Hah _ — Andrew, I'm so sensitive…” Neil whispered, between whimpers.

“Yeah, sweetheart? Do you wanna tell me why?” Andrew encouraged him, applying more pressure to his movements and making a little more precome to escape from Neil's cock.

“I—  _ Um— _ I think all of this makes me vulnerable and— and that's why I can feel the temperature inside the room,” he swallowed, squinting and moaning again. “It's cold but my skin—  _ Ah— _ my skin is hot and it feels  _ so good _ —  _ Andrew! _ ”

He kinda shouted Andrew's name when the latter squeezed his hips as hard as he could against the other man's and rubbed both groins  _ hard _ .

Andrew knew what he was talking about, because he could feel the temperature too. Sex was an intimate act that could leave anyone  _ exposed _ in all literal forms, so, of course, that happened with skills too, which were momentarily weakened.

“And is that good, my angel?” He asked.

Neil groaned and arched, exposing his neck completely. “Yes. It's very good.”

Andrew just nodded before assaulting the sensitive skin of Neil's throat with his lips. He sucked it once, and then went down. He sucked again, and went down again. He did this until he reached the collarbone, where he bit and eased with his tongue. Neil groaned and grabbed a handful of Andrew's hair.

The blonde went down a little more and looked up just as he covered Neil's right nipple with his lips. He licked first, until it was bristling, and sucked vigorously. He watched in complete delight as Neil squirmed under him and let a trailing whimper come out of his mouth.

Andrew did it again until that nipple was way too sensitive and, only then, left for the other. Neil was already a mess of whining, incoherent mumbles and moans, and constantly expressed his approval with a succession of  _ 'yes, yes, yes' _ through clenched teeth.

“You look so gorgeous, sweetheart. Crumbling under me and asking for more,” Andrew whispered, as he lowered himself further down to Neil's groin.

He took one last look up before letting out a low breath that directly hit Neil's dick. Andrew ran his thumb over the tip and spread a small amount of precome across the length. He pumped a few times with his hand and, holding the base and relaxing his throat, swallowed the cock slowly until he rubbed his nose against Neil's groin.

“ _ Fuck, _ ” the auburn haired grunted. “ _ Fuck, fuck _ .”

Andrew wanted to smirk but that would probably make him choke, so he just kept going. He hummed and let the vibration envelop Neil’s length, who arched once more and let out a whimper followed by a groan.

Andrew raised his head until the dick came out of his mouth making a  _ 'pop' _ noise and saw that Neil was looking at him with dizzy and cloudy eyes, but with so much and deep bliss.

“It's incredibly satisfying to take you down like this,” Andrew whispered and sat on his calves. “Lift your torso.”

Neil did as he was asked and sat on the bed. As soon as he did so, Andrew lifted two fingers and pressed them against the other man’s lips, who let them slide in easily.

“Suck it,” sounded like a request, but clearly it was an order. “And do it right, because I'm just gonna mirror your movements.”

Andrew licked his lips, went down and positioned himself again, swallowing only the tip of Neil's cock for now, still keeping his fingers in place inside Neil’s mouth. First of all, he let his tongue slide over the tip and press lightly, which made the other man groan against his fingers. Complying with what he had promised, Andrew imitated the gesture. He swallowed the entire length and let a groan escape from the back of his throat and reverberate through Neil's dick.

“Fuck, Andrew,” he whispered, after taking the blonde's fingers out of his mouth, and shivering violently.

Andrew did the same as him and let the entire dick escape his mouth. “Did I tell you to stop, my angel?”

Neil opened his eyes wide and denied, being quick to suck the other man's fingers again. While doing so, he also buried one hand in the strands of blond hair and grabbed them to try to control himself. He thrusted the fingers in and out of his mouth, in constant, appreciative movements.

They were melting in pleasure, that was undeniable by seeing as they had both lost their coordination thanks to each other's ministrations. Neil couldn't do much more than moan around Andrew's fingers, who was moving his head unsteadily and trying to rebuke the many sounds that wanted to escape his throat.

Neil choked a few times on the intensity of what he was feeling, but was quick to pick up the pace. That sight of both of them must really be something completely filthy, and that was all but leaving Andrew dizzy.

Every time he went down to the end, to the point of feeling Neil's groin against his nose and the tip of his cock down his throat, he could witness the intense shudder that ran through the other man's entire body.

Suddenly the room was too hot and Andrew knew that it was only partly a natural sensation, given what they were doing, though he knew better that it was also a consequence of the discharge of power resulting from their overwhelming sensations.

At some point, Neil stopped sucking Andrew's fingers, took them out of his mouth — which had become a mess of spit and swollen lips — and stuck out his tongue to lick them instead. He licked with his eyes closed in delight and produced a low sound of pleasure.

Andrew sucked the cock extension as he pulled it out of his mouth and lapped it in the same way as Neil was doing with his fingers, holding on to the base of the member for stability.

“ _ Andr— Hah— _ Andrew,” Neil called out, moaned.

“Yes, my angel?”

The auburn-haired man trembled at the sound of the nickname and sighed. “I'm—  _ Um, _ I'm feeling a little different and it's kinda stunning,” he swallowed. “My head is spinning— with too many sensations and I think I'm tingling? And it's hot, so hot and foggy.”

Andrew smirked and lifted his body until he was sitting on his calves again. He picked up the hand Neil was sucking on and, looking into the man's eyes, pushed him slowly until he lay down on the bed again. Andrew stood over Neil on the mattress, looked deep into his eyes and, leaning on just one arm, he reached for Neil's red, throbbing and most likely sore cock. 

Andrew’s felt even worse, as if it was about to complain about the lack of attention it was getting while being stuck in his pants, but he didn't have time for that now. He wanted to give Neil, more than to receive.

But, having a last-minute idea, Andrew got to his feet and made a commendable effort to remove the rest of his own remaining clothes. When he came back to bed, his red and swollen erection was hanging from his groin and Neil looked at him with his eyes covered in an insane mixture of admiration, lust and filthy desire, and that was probably one of the most beautiful looks Andrew had ever seen on his face.

The blonde positioned himself above the other man again and watched as his gaze transitioned completely as it moved up Andrew's body until it reached his face. It began as obscured by desire and softened as it ascended, until it became something close to complete affection. Neil smiled and stood up a little to place a quick kiss on Andrew’s lips.

Andrew was momentarily stunned by the gesture, but as soon as he recovered he was quick to wrap his hand around both his and Neil's cocks. The latter swallowed and gasped on the act, just before trying to look down and then throw his head back when Andrew started to move his hips slowly, creating friction between the two dicks together.

“Andrew, _oh, that's—_ _keep going, keep going,_ ” Neil said, before uttering several moans in succession.

The blonde managed to gather enough sanity to smirk, increasing the pressure between their cocks. “I like how expressive you are,” Andrew said, slightly out of breath. 

He withdrew the hand he used to hold them together and struggled to continue to give them the friction they both desperately needed in the best way best he could with only their own bodies providing the support for their movements, for their pleasure. He changed the arm supporting him above Neil and brought the now free hand to Neil's neck, applying just the  _ right _ amount of pressure, as he whispered in the few inches between them, “Come for me, sweetheart?”

And maybe something about the way Andrew was looking deep into Neil's eyes, or how his tone sounded so intense, made the auburn-haired man choke and let out a sharp breath. He shivered and searched for air as he clung too tightly to the skin on Andrew's chest, in a way that would probably leave marks. He groaned with oversensibility as Andrew continued to grind him to prolong the orgasm.

It didn't take long before the blonde also surrendered and allowed himself to come. He bit Neil's neck and let out a low groan. Together, they became a mess of choppy breaths, whines, heat and intense looks. Because they were so close, Andrew didn't let it pass when Neil's eyes changed color with the high where he was lost. The irises literally shone in different colors, and it was perfect, just incredible.

While he was looking, Neil grabbed a handful of Andrew's hair and raised his own head to kiss the strands.

“Your hair is white,” he said, breathless and in his post-orgasmatic daze.

Still taking some time to recover and gasping, it took Andrew a while to respond.

“Your eyes are in various colors,” he finally said.

Neil smiled and cupped Andrew's face, leaving a chaste kiss on the man's lips.

After a while, they picked up a shirt from the floor and used it to clean the cum of their sticky torsos.

The last thing Neil said, while pulling a sheet over them and snuggling himself on top of Andrew, was, “You really can't stop surprising me, can you?”

~~~~~~

As Neil had promised, they spent a few days at Stuart's cabin.

Time which they used to organize what they  _ could _ and  _ would _ do, with the help of what they already knew and a little more that Stuart could add. After approximately three days, they had enough information that they gathered in a letter  **—** which stated, in a simplified way, what they had discovered, what they were about to do and how they were going to do it —, enchanted it and sent it back to Wymack and the other inhabitants of the house (with the help of Neil, who made Fakeen the transport for the letter).

After effectively sending it, it took them five more days before Neil had enough confidence in the recovery of Andrew's wounds, even though the latter insisted that it was a complete exaggeration, that the wounds were superficial and the daily care had made it heal a long time ago.

In summary, they really took a while to move on. Neil couldn't say he was sorry, though. Those were the calm days before the storm, after all, and he wanted to appreciate them fully.

After this, they went alone on the path Stuart instructed, and it seemed just like the first journey they took to get there, but this time, they were both surrounded with this  _ feeling _ that weighed on them both. They were so concerned, and of course they were. This was too big, what they were going to do, and they had no way of making sure they were ready for it.

That was a little detrimental to them, for sure. It caused the two to become  _ overly protective _ around each other or to be involved in a bubble of distress whenever they had a slightly more peaceful or resolute moment.

They had replenished enough in Stuart's cabin, which gave them the ability to keep the trip unaided by the bunkers of Betsy, Wymack and Abby — although they passed by a bunker, along the way; but it was the only one and the rest of the time of their journey they had to do whatever was possible without them.

Nothing really happened on the way to the Evermore Castle — nothing but their growing anxiety — and they reached the place much faster than expected.

“Just checking one last time, are you sure you don't wanna turn around and leave now?” Neil asked, when they were about to enter the fortification.

“I will not keep repeating myself, I know that you are a big guy and have at least a little capacity to understand things.”

Neil just rolled his eyes.

In the previous days, Stuart had taught him how to make illusions, and they based most of the planning on that. Neil managed to exercise perfectly after some practice, and now he was no longer so worried that it went wrong, since he knew he wouldn't fail at that.

Andrew, on the other hand, has been stressed out by this, way beyond measure. He was, of course, opposed to all the involvement that Neil had in the whole thing, but there wasn't exactly much he could do about it besides being grumpy and complaining.

As they walked together towards the castle, the first illusion was set in motion. They were both walking in full view, and that was what essential for the plan to go well. They would not hide or make it look, in any way, that they shouldn’t be there. Andrew and Neil would enter that castle as if they were fully entitled to be there.

_ They were, theoretically, but that had been diverted, so... _

The first guards who came towards greeted them and opened the way for them to walk in without any trouble. 

Because of Neil’s magic, they were, for anyone who cared, two Fieries just like the rest. Or at least that was what they saw.

Walking inside the immense stone building, Neil was almost dizzy with the complete darkness of the walls, ceiling and floor. It was all completely black, which was making him nauseous, since it looked like the inside of a box. Had it not been for Andrew's firm hand grabbing his arm and stabilizing him, he probably would have passed out from the feeling of claustrophobia. Neil never did good in closeted places, and this was the most  _ suffocated  _ he had ever felt.

“It's fine, okay? You're doing well,” the blonde whispered to Neil and only him.

Several guards, soldiers and Fieries from the most diverse positions passed by them and, if at all, gave a nod to the two. That was a good sign that the illusion was holding up. 

Very good.

They had discussed that thousands of times until it was perfectly etched into their memory, so now they were completely silent, and despite any nervousness or claustrophobic sensations, each knew what to do without a doubt.

Neil continued to extend the illusion as they walked, involving them in the distortion and not allowing any slippage that would cause them to be caught. As they approached the center of the Castle, however, he began to feel an intense and crescent tightness that seemed to be directly in his gut. It wasn't pleasant or comfortable _ at all _ , but Neil _ could not _ stop now, so moving on he would.

As they were passing through a strangely empty — since it should be busier the closer they got to the center of the building — corridor, they were taken completely by surprise by an air wave that came out of an open door that was strong enough to drag them into the room it came from. 

The door slammed behind them and was immediately locked, if the sound of it suggested anything.

Although they’ve become destabilized by the sudden movement, they were still standing firmly, just taking a few seconds to regain the perfect balance.

“ _ What the fuck _ was that?” Andrew grunted, already drawing one of the knives that they had obtained from Stuart.

Neil was more dizzy than usual. There was something in that place that was making his senses tighten fiercely, and the tightness in his gut came back hard enough to cloud his senses. He bent and placed a hand on his belly, squeezing uselessly to try and ease the pain.

“There is something very wrong here. It’s not dangerous, not for us, but something is  _ very wrong _ ,” he said, between gasps.

Andrew put the knife between the folds of his clothes again in order to reach Neil and hold him.

“Hey, hey, what's going on? Talk to me.”

“He's in pain,” a third voice said.

Andrew's head shot up, turning in the direction of the sound and looking for the source. The room was poorly lit, so it wasn't as if they could have much sense of anything, or distinguish what the room was, just that they were still near the door in which they came in.

Neil tried to get up and look for the owner of the voice as well, but immediately regretted it when the pain pulsed inside him again. He groaned and took a deep breath.

“ _ Why _ is he in pain?” The fury in Andrew's voice was almost palpable.

It was then that, finally, a face for that voice emerged from the corner of the room. There were only three windows, at most, across the walls, and the afternoon light that came in was enough to see the person, but not yet to discern other aspects of the place without getting close.

“I'm Jeremy.  _ He _ and  _ him _ , if you mind,” a blond man and taller than them, with a peaceful expression but with a strong background of concern, a straight back and both hands raised in peace, said. “I will not try anything against you. You have my word.”

“And what exactly is that worth of?” Andrew narrowed his eyes.

“Fair enough. So just listen to me, I'll explain. First of all, I’m only seeing you because Jean gave me an amulet against illusions, for when we needed to communicate without anyone else seeing. Now, the little auburn haired one is in pain because he is intensely sensitive, just like the other Spirits. He can sense that something is wrong and his body is speaking out against it, until he, or someone else, does something to reverse the problem. Normally it wouldn't be so much pain, but we have a really big problem in our hands, so...”

Andrew was probably two steps away from twisting Jeremy's neck, if it didn't mean that, for that he would have to let Neil go, which was something he definitely wouldn't be doing.

“Although I have a considerable amount of questions to ask you right now, let's start with an explanation or a way to stop this.  _ Now _ ,” he said.

“Sure,” gesturing to the back of the room, Jeremy showed what looked to be a figure shrunken on a mattress.  _ So that was a bedroom, _ Neil mused. “In addition to the Spirits imprisoned in the underground of the castle, which in itself is an alarming situation, as you can imagine, there is also Jean. He's fighting death right now.”

Jeremy's voice broke in mid-sentence and Neil thought he was probably not comfortable with the situation, either. Good sign, at least he apparently isn't as hateful as the rest of the people in that place.

“Jeremy and Jean... Kevin used to speak about you,” Andrew said.

“Why? Who are they?” Neil gathered enough strength to ask.

Jeremy gave him a small smile and a nod. “We are his lovers.”

“Ah.”

Honestly, this was probably one of the strangest things Neil had heard in the past few days, and he had heard  _ a lot _ . He just didn't think it would be possible for Kevin to  _ like _ other people. He was just so…  _ Grumpy. _

“What does the fact that he's dying has to do with Neil barely being able to stand? I mean, I understood that he's sensitive and everything, but that doesn't exactly make a lot of sense,” Andrew simply waved at the body in the corner of the room.

“I believe the right question is  _ why _ we’re not doing anything to help Jean,” Neil interjected, slowly trying to get his posture back up and managing to do it despite the pain. “I'm fine.”

“Jean will be fine too, don't worry. Unfortunately this is not the first time, so we already know how to handle it,” Jeremy assured. “And the reason why Neil's sensitivity is like this is because this is not a near-death due to natural causes, and anything that affects the balance of Nature consequently deeply affects the Spirits.”

“Fucking hell, after all this shit I definitely need to take a vacation from anything that involves Nature,” Andrew grumbled.

He was ignored and Neil walked slowly towards Jeremy.

“What exactly is going on with Jean?” He asked.

“Oh, boy... Where should I start?” Jeremy took a heavy breath. “Well, Jean is a Watery, I think this is a good starting point.”

Both Andrew and Neil looked away to the other man at the back of the room.

“He is?” Neil raised an eyebrow. “That explains why looking at him makes me hear the sea.”

“You are new to this Spirit thing, aren't you?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

Jeremy laughed. “Okay, fair enough. So, yeah, Jean is a Watery. He was taken from the sea by the Moriyama family and has been kept in this castle for years. As if that wasn't bad enough, they abuse his magic in so many ways... And they force him to pass for a Fiery with forgers, just as me, which I can't even begin to imagine how horrible it must be, because fire hurts him so much... More than it hurts me, for example,” his eyes were lowered as he spoke. “Kevin and I made a promise to protect him at all costs before he left. I hate to think that this is probably the only reason Jean is still alive.”

“I'm so sorry, Jeremy,” Neil offered, looking really hurt about it.

How he could feel so much for men he met just five minutes ago was beyond his comprehension, but that was just like that.

“Don’t be. Just do what you came to do and that will be more than enough.”

“How do you know what we came to do? And how did you know who we are?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“A Spirit and an Airy, specifically Anam Cara that are so powerful together and emanate that through their fucking pores, invade Evermore Castle covered in illusions... And if that wasn't obvious enough, I would say that the fact that I told him that you two were coming may have helped a little, also it was easy for him to distinguish your energies the moment you approached this room. Jean has been teaching us some stuff has a while,” a new voice said, behind them.

This time it was too familiar, a voice that made Andrew swear before he even turned to look at  _ Kevin fucking Day _ .

“Kevin, what the fuc—”

“Andrew, just save this shit, okay? Yes, I am here. No, you couldn't have done anything to stop me, and I know this is more dangerous for me than to the others, but I  _ just decided _ I had to be here to help you after the letter you sent to Wymack,” Kevin held out a hand as he spoke.

“He's still a Fiery, after all... He's always going to choose his battles and there is really nothing you can do about it,” Jeremy murmured. “Did you bring it, Kev?”

“Yes. It was kinda hard to get through, but I made it.”

Neil looked astonished and Andrew observed attentively as Kevin and Jeremy crossed the room to the mattress where Jean was unconscious and began a methodical process of spreading different herbs and liquids that could very well be teas throughout the man's body.

Their cause wasn’t the only incentive to Kevin’s arrival, then, as he must have missed his lovers — much more than Neil would’ve thought — after he fled from the Fiery territory. Love and concern were clear through his eyes as he looked at both men before him and worked to make Jean feel better.

“How did he get here in time?” Neil whispered to Andrew.

“If he was crazy enough,”Andrew whispered back. “Kevin could have used partial or complete metamorphosis to use the skills of any animal he could and get here faster. Or, what I think — and hope — is what really happened, he may have taken shortcuts through the underground. It's a pretty quick way, too. And we kinda spent a few days at Stuart's cabin before coming over here. It was time enough for him to receive our letter, prepare and arrive before us.  _ Stubborn shithead _ .”

Neil hummed and nodded in agreement. He slowly approached the other three men and watched as two of them worked together with the same concern mirrored on each other's faces. They exchanged glances and reached an agreement, whatever it was. Kevin gave Jeremy a quick kiss and stroked Jean's cheek before getting up and facing Andrew and Neil.

“We should do this soon enough,” he said.

That sentence, impossibly, annoyed Andrew even more, but he did nothing but dramatically snort and shrug.

Despite Kevin's insistence that everything was fine and that they should go, they waited until Jean woke up before leaving. Of course it took some time, and he was barely conscious when he woke up, but still, it seemed important somehow for both Andrew and Neil to wait.

Neil covered them with the illusion again, when he felt recovered enough to, and they went out into the empty halls once more.

“Kevin, if you don’t mind, why were you the only one to come? Among everyone in the house, I mean,” Neil asked.

“I was the only one with enough means to infiltrate the castle and remain undetected until you arrived. The means, in this case, are Jeremy and Jean,” Kevin whispered through gritted teeth, looking nervous as they continued their journey to the center of the building. “You two were very lucky, you fuckers. All the Moriyama family is here today, you will be able to catch them all at once. That's fucking lucky. It would be much worse to do what you want to do if that wasn’t the case. It’s kinda rare for them all to be in the same place nowadays and we need to make sure we do this fast, to grasp this opportunity and use it fully. We can’t waste it.”

“Let's see if we can keep luck on our side with all these Fieries marking territory…” Andrew frowned, .

“You don’t understand. If we manage to kill Riko, Ichirou, Kengo and Tetsuji, all of them at once, everyone else will be forced to step back and praise the nearest leader. Which, in this case, will be Neil.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“It is our instinct. We don't choose our leaders, they just  _ are _ the ones who have enough capacity to lead, and  _ that _ is literally the nature of Neil and the Spirits.”

“It wasn't exactly helpful in stopping the Moriyamas before,” Andrew shrugged. “I'm just saying.”

“But this is because they’re a point of natural imbalance. And they paid each single price for all the damage they did to Nature. Skill forgers, for example, don’t work over them like they do with other people, and Kengo is sick and dying slowly because of the abuse of it. Besides, their skills as Fieries have also weakened among time. And those are just a few of the many things.”

“Now they're going to pay with their lives,” Neil sounded dark enough for the other two to look at him mildly surprised, but remained quiet.

No one else said anything for the rest of their walk, this time led by Kevin, who knew the place, to a hall with a high ceiling and an overly long table in the middle. Other than that, the room was empty.

“This is the planning room. It would be more filled if it had a meeting going on,” Kevin explained after he closed the double doors of the hall behind them. It was a room with big arched windows, much brighter than the bedroom where they first met Kevin, completely clad in stone and fucking spacious, even more as empty as it was, making the table in the center of it all seems lost in a void. And the scratched walls clearly indicated that violent meetings have probably passed by there. “Listen, now you need to get me out of the illusion.”

“Wait, what?” Andrew almost hit Kevin with the words.

“Someone needs to bring the Moriyamas here, don't you think? This is going to be pretty easy if I do that. I can manage it without alerting the other Fieries. You wait right here and when we have the four of them in the same room, you do what you must. But only with the four of them in the same room. Until then, regardless of what they say or do,  _ do not _ hinder your chance of protection. They are powerful and this is a one in a million chance we need to make sure to use, so don’t be stupid.”

Andrew was shooting his sharpest look at Kevin, but the latter was, visibly ignoring him. Neil sighed. He knew that Kevin was right. He was their best chance to do this, and the one with Moriyama expertise, after all.

“Done,” the auburn haired said.

“ _ What? _ ” Both Andrew and Kevin asked at the same time, confused.

“You are out of the illusion.”

Now the blonde’s look, with the weight of a thousand knives, was on him, and that made Neil shrink. No time for discussion, though, because the next moment something flashed on Kevin's fingers before it was fired across the room and one of the tapestries glowed in flames and exploded with a crackling loud noise that certainly caught the attention of half of the building.

_ Well, Kevin certainly had a special way to get people to come to him _ , Neil thought grimly before being pushed by Andrew to the wall of the hall so they could stay out of the way of whatever was about to happen.

The sound of rushing footsteps outside caught their attention, and Kevin walked away towards the table in the center of the place while Neil modified the illusion to make him and Andrew invisible. In the next minute, the door to the salon burst open and three people entered in a daze, looking for the source of the noise. They stopped immediately when they saw a single man standing alone in the middle of everything.

“They have ten minutes to come to me. All four of them,” was all Kevin said, with an incendiary — literally — and destructive look.

The three people nodded vigorously and left the same way they had entered. They ran down the halls and it alarmed other people, but no one dared to actually do anything besides getting out of their way. 

Kevin didn't move a single muscle while he waited, and Neil was feeling almost breathless from all that tension. It was Andrew's grip on his arm that made him come to his senses and focus on maintaining the illusion around them.

Many people passed through the now open door to the hall, but no one dared to really look inside.

Riko was the first to appear, looking at Kevin with pure disguised anger.

“So the coward is back,” he said.

“Hi, Riko.”

“How long, huh, Day? But it's not like it's my fault, after all, I wasn't the one who decided to run away like an all-afraid man.”

“I wasn’t afraid or a coward just because I left. Courage is also about knowing when to give up on something and find another goal.”

“This is completely bullshit and you know it is,” Riko rolled his eyes. “What brings you back?”

Kevin crossed his arms. “I believe I asked to see the four Moriyama members, not just the youngest and most irrational one.”

It was at least gratifying to see, even for a millisecond, the way Riko's face turned red with anger. He recovered quickly, however, just in time to notice the remaining three men coming in succession from the hall.

They closed the long door with a loud thud and walked in silence until they joined the others by the table. Everyone sat down except for the man with long hair and arms covered in various colored drawings, who kept standing behind a wooden chair. He had a thin face and ruthless, heavy eyes.

“So, the boy whose Riko doesn't shut his spoiled mouth is back to us? What an honor,” the man said.

“Ichirou, sit down and let go of that hostile attitude,” another man, one of those who was sitting and looked like an older version of both Riko and Ichirou, scolded.

“You have no place for speech here, since you are sick and soon there will be nothing from you for anything. I, on the other hand, am the direct heir and am just performing my role,  _ father _ .”

“We will not be arguing. Not here, not now.”

“What did I just say? You have no place to—”

“That's enough,” Kevin's voice cut him off.

Ichirou's gaze snapped in his direction and seemed to be dissecting him.

“So he not only came back, but apparently also grew a pair of balls. Well… this is a breakthrough.”

The four were in the room. This was the opportunity that Kevin had told them to wait. However, neither Andreil nor Neil moved. They couldn't risk it yet. If they tried to attack one by one, one of them could try to react against Kevin, and if they tried to attack all at once, it could be just as dangerous. Kevin was too close for anything they could try, and Neil had just discovered his new skills, it wasn't like he already knew everything about them beyond what Stuart was able to explain or teach, and he wouldn't risk things coming out of control.

However, Neil had an idea that, of course, had its risks, but it could work.

He used the aid of air and saw clearly when the five men seated at the table in the center of the room shook as a gust of wind passed between them. Only Kevin was able to hear, however. This didn’t stop others from becoming a bit alarmed.

Andrew looked at the auburn haired one.

“What did you do?” He whispered, and it was barely audible to Neil himself, who was just beside him.

“I whispered something to Kevin using that manipulation of the wind direction you did once. But don't worry, only he was able to hear.”

Andrew moved in place, visibly concerned, but said nothing more.

“What are you doing here, anyway, Day?” Ichirou's voice rose over them.

Kevin cleared his throat and hummed. “I have an offer.”

Riko scoffed at him and rolled his eyes, which earned him an angry look from Ichirou.

“What, possibly, would you have there that could interest us?”

Kevin sighed, getting up from the table and walking around it, before walking slowly across the room, always keeping his hands behind him and an admirable posture.

“It's quite simple, actually. My request is that you give up on both Jean and Jeremy.”

The smile on Ichirou's face was evil, to say the least. “You are naive. Moreau is our most valuable asset, he is our source of magic since he is a born Watery. And the other one is probably not worth that much, but a possession is a possession.”

“They are not _ things _ you can  _ own _ ,” Kevin said, between gritted teeths. “And it's not like you have a choice.”

Ichirou frowned dangerously and crossed his hands in front of his body. “I don’t have a choice? You must be insane if you have the courage to come to my castle, where I keep my government seat, and say such bullshit to me.”

“You see, Ichirou,” Kevin said, still walking and, imperceptibly, creating space between him and the others present as if he was just pacing arrogantly, “I said this offer would be simple, so here's the final thing: you can give them up or die.”

Neil doubled his attention at that moment, and so he barely saw when Andrew almost passed out in outrage beside him — or something like that.

“ _ What the f— _ ,” he started to say.

“As I said, insane,” Ichirou's voice boomed across the room. He sighed and pressed his fingers against his temples, a clear sign of impatience. “How out of your mind are you to at least consider that I believe you can even hurt me, Day?”

“I'm not saying anything improbable or impossible, just to make it clear,” he answered, still moving away from the table.

“ _ Stop walking away _ , are you in a hurry to leave?” Ichirou shouted.  _ So he  _ **_had noticed_ ** _ Kevin walk away slowly… It wasn’t very good but luckily Kevin had already reached far enough to not be such a problem, _ Neil though. “Tetsuji, get him and bring him to the table,” the man's voice was harsh and even Neil shivered in place. He looked at Kevin, alert, only to see that the green eyes were already fixed on the place where they were — since Kevin could no longer see them, as he was out of the illusion — and the small but firm movement that, clearly , it was a nod. A statement.

Neil waited two more seconds before turning to Andrew and saying, simply, “Just in case… Thank you, you were amazing.”

He didn't wait for an answer as Tetsuji reached Kevin and tried to move him from where he was standing firmly

The man was interrupted by Ichirou's choking noise and soon all the pairs of eyes in the room were on Neil — and consequently Andrew —, since he had undone the illusion in order to fully use his skills in other ways.

“Hello. We don't have much to talk about, because I believe you know all the reasons why you deserve to be  _ punished, _ don't you?” Neil said, and in that moment, he sounded in a way he had never done before in his life, but he didn’t mind it at all if that gave him the frightened looks in the Moriyama family members faces.

“Who— The fuck— are you?” Ichirou managed to say it, although not calmly since Neil was, very slowly, removing the air from his lungs.

“It is not relevant, since you have only a few minutes to live, luckily. Thank you Ichirou, it was  _ not  _ a pleasure to meet you and I hope that—”

Neil broke off because something went too close to his face and was deflected at the last moment. He saw the object coming and then it was gone, but not without leaving traces of its presence behind.

Judging by the fact that Riko was standing, had an arm outstretched in front of him and a short, flaming blade was now thrown a few feet away, he easily deduced what could have happened. And Andrew's fierce look was also a strong indicator of what had been the sudden deflection of the blade.

When Neil tried to react, Kevin produced a long hiss from across the room and everyone looked to see him holding his arm but being unable to cover the entire length of the cut bleeding through his fingers, which caused Neil to be concerned and him and Andrew to be distracted for a few moments. Meanwhile, Tetsuji was taking the time to run, and both Riko and Kengo tried to do the same. Neil managed to react faster to hold the last two, causing the mosses of the hall’s stone walls to expand and grab them halfway. Tetsuji, however, managed to get through the door and run for his dear life.

Andrew and Neil exchanged a quick glance, and it was unlikely that they had communicated so much with just that, but they did.

“Just go, okay? Come back only when you have settled this and I will be waiting, I promise,” Neil assured. “That's how you're going to protect me, Andrew.”

Completely upset and irritated in the extreme, the blonde ran and metamorphosed in midair, leaving the room through the doorway in the shape of an eagle. He was followed by several whispered and magical words.  _ And this is how I'm going to protect you _ , Neil thought.

The door was closed with the force of the wind and the auburn-haired one used everything he could to block it completely from opening again.

“Now, back to you, gentlemen…” He said. Kevin was still bleeding but was well enough as he approached Neil. “It is only fair that you know how you lost bitterly even after all the shit you did, and I will grant you that last honor... Not that you deserve it, but I am incredibly generous, you know.”

All Kengo, Ichirou and Riko had the same furious expression on their faces, and that should probably be the closest to a family moment for them, probably for their entire lives.

Neil caught it just in time when Kengo tried to move his hands and that indicated that the man would try something, so he was quick to force the mosses against the three of them even more and make them kneel, trapped under the plants. Kengo cursed low for the failed attempt.

“So you’re in a hurry? Okay. I’ll be brief.” Neil shrugged. Next to him, Kevin was shooting the worst disgusted look at the three members of the Moriyama family forced to kneel in front of them. “I’m a Spirit you guys didn't catch. Incredible, isn’t it?”

No one seemed surprised but Riko, who exclaimed a loud, “ _ What? _ ”

“Haven't you really figured that out yet?” Neil blinked, a little incredulous before returning to say calmly. “Well then, you must be more dumb than I thought. Anyway, any questions before the death sentence that you will definitely receive not only for fucking with all the natural balance but also condemning several people to terrible situations and taking the power to choose from several others?”

“We refuse to say anything. Whatever you are going to do, just do it already,” Kengo grunted.

“I don't have a single reason to be lenient with you, so let's not be too quick, shall we?”

Ichirou, surprisingly, smiled devilishly. “Take your time. I can't say that I regret anything I did, so you won't be able to take even a drop of regret from me, if that's what you want with that speech.”

“Okay, so we're done here.”

And without saying another word, Neil started pulling the air out of Ichirou's lungs again. He was doing it faster this time, eliminating time and opportunities for interference. Still…

“Neil,” Kevin called.

“What?”

“Stop.”

“ _ What? _ ” He was firmer this time. When he turned his face, Kevin’s look was dark and deep.

“Wait a minute, that's not how you should do it,” Kevin took two steps forward until the three men were, literally, kneeling at his feet. “Since you didn't accept the agreement, Ichirou, I must comply with my part of it…”

Neil relieved what he was doing and that allowed Ichirou to get some air together again. Kevin was taking the lead in this moment, and Neil would let him do that.

“Do you know how big the conflict you all have caused Jean during all these years that he has been arrested and used by you is? No, right? I figured. So, let me tell you. Jean is a Watery, and you have enough intellect to know that this indicates that his element is  _ water _ . For years you abused his magic until you left almost nothing left, you put him on the verge of death  _ several times _ . And, as if it weren't bad enough, he was kept out of his environment the whole time and forced to ingest the chemical shit of Fiery skill forgers,” Kevin's gaze was probably equivalent to a thousand sharp, burning daggers as he fixed it in each one of the Moriyamas at his feet and his voice was getting through teeth gritted in pure rage. “Do you know what fire can do with a Watery removed from their environment and drained to the last bit? Do you have  _ any _ ideas?  _ Six times  _ Jeremy and I had to take care of him while Jean was shedding his skin due to extreme dehydration.  _ Thirty-eight times _ we had to hold on to his shaking body while Jean vomited his own blood.  _ Sixty-three times  _ we were desperate because he was convulsing uncontrollably and crying, literally, blood. And all of this before I went away, so there were times Jeremy had to do this on his own just so we could wait for the right moment in which I came back and we could make you pay for every single of those times. You submitted him to a pain that I can't even begin to imagine.”

Neil was scared and angry knowing all of this, using every particle of himself to take a hold and not advance against the three Moriyama men in front of him. The more he talked, Kevin also grew more and more intimidating and furious, not even once looking away from the men resolutely watching their death sentences being delivered by the ragged soldier.

“I can't imagine, but you will,” he said again fiercely. “Feel free to enjoy every second of it. This would happen anyway for your shitty government and dictatorial ways, for all the suffering you put Thaekar  _ and Clarenby  _ people through, but you made sure to make it personal over the years, so you will receive it personal pain now too. Neil, dehydrate them. Take each particle of any liquid that is inside these three bodies.” Kevin said without turning to look at him. “And do it slowly.”

The auburn-haired man didn't need to hear another word. He made a single movement that immediately removed the grin from Ichirou's face, made Riko's eyes widen and Kengo trembled in a definitely not good way. The three struggled uselessly as water uncontrollably began to pour out of the pores of their bodies. Kevin watched the scene for a while before turning on his back and walking over to the other man in the room. He and Neil stood side by side as they watched the scene unfold slowly in front of them.

First, their skin started to lose its shine and to dry little by little, until cracks appeared in some parts and the elasticity disappeared for good, which made it look like everything was withering. Their eyes were also sunken and visibly tired and dizzy.

When they were no longer strong enough to expel water, it was blood that came out, staining all their broken skin with scarlet.

“Does it feel good?” Kevin asked for them, between gritted teeth and pure ire on his face. “For me, yes, I hope it will be the same for you.”

But, obviously, they couldn't answer. When Riko tried to open his mouth, the only thing that came out was a noise that was barely human and was definitely desperate. Ichirou and Kengo did not for a moment try to do the same, they just accepted what was submitted to them and suffered in silence with their eyes full of anger.

Even when the three fell simultaneously, the blood did not stop flowing through them and the lack of body fluids slowly deformed them.

It was watching life finally being drained out of them that Neil felt for the first time.

“Um,  _ ouch, _ ” he hissed, grabbing the left side of his hip.

Kevin took a few seconds before looking at him, but when he did, his face was instantly filled with worry, when he saw Neil hunched over and pressing that specific place on his body.

“What is happening?” He asked. Neil said nothing, just removed his hand from his hip and held it out, palm up. It was stained with blood. “What the fuck? You  _ will  _ explain to me what this is, but before we have to get to Jeremy, he will know what to do.”

“I'm fine,” Neil straightened up. “We need to go after Andrew.”

“What— Why? You are  _ clearly _ not fine.”

“It's superficial, Kevin,” he tried to explain, “but that means that we need to get to Andrew as soon as possible.”

“ _ Why? _ ”

“I put a protective spell on him when he was leaving.  _ This  _ wound means that he is being attacked in some way,” Neil showed his hand stained with his own blood for emphasis.

Kevin frowned and looked at him with a confused expression, until his face lit up in understanding and then closed in irritation again.

“It’s not a protection spell, it’s a  _ redirection spell _ , isn’t it? He cannot be hurt because all blows are deflected towards you.” He asked.

Neil bit the inside of his mouth with mild irritation. “Say what you want, if it prevents him from getting hurt, it's protection.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Kevin looked exasperated.

“I didn't know any other form to do it, and no fucking way that I would send him among all these Fieries soldiers with nothing to help him.” Neil unrelented.

Kevin snorted and rolled his eyes. “I'm not going to say anything, because Andrew is going to give you enough shit when he realizes what's going on, which, a tip, won't take long. Let's just get out of here.”

He reached out to grab Neil's arm, but the latter dodged at the last minute and hissed in pain again. Another cut opened, on the right arm now.

“We're going to get out of here and find him,” Neil stamped his foot. He covered the three, now lifeless, bodies with the moss from the walls and only the long pool of blood was visible now, but there was not much to be done about it. Not now. He turned and walked to the door without waiting for Kevin.

Neil heard only a long, heavy sigh behind him, before long strides followed. They ran through the corridors, and every single Fiery that saw them made space instantly.

“What the fuck is wrong with them?” The auburn-haired one asked, sometime after noticing this.

“They are seeing a Spirit running through the corridors rather than chained in the dungeons, so, yeah, they must be a little scared…”

“How do they know that I am a Spirit?”

“You mean, besides your silver eyes?”

“Are my eyes silver?”

“Yes, it can happen when a Spirit's magic is flowing openly and excessively through them.”

“Um, got it,”

They only stopped running when Neil felt a shock through his body and he just knew this was an indication that Andrew was close. They entered through a semi-open door and came across exactly the blonde trying to force his way through some Fieries. Andrew sensed when they entered the room, and did not turn his body but made himself heard by shouting, “Josten, I will  _ kill _ you when we are done with this.”

Kevin just whispered, “I said he wouldn't like it when he found out.”

Neil sighed and approached Andrew. Once again, the Fieries looked almost startled to see him, and they cleared their way immediately. Tetsuji, who was hiding behind all those people, opened his eyes wide at the gesture and finally looked scared.

“Just so you know, Riko, Ichirou and Kengo are all dead,” Neil said, in a completely indifferent tone.

Tetsuji opened his mouth but what came out was a gasp and then a few drops of blood. A dagger materialized on his chest, and he looked at it in complete terror, but it was already stuck in a crucial place, so, like his relatives, he just accepted what was happening and fell to the ground with the eyes wide with dread.

Neil walked to him and bent down to remove the dagger from his chest, facing the weapon before returning it to Andrew, who he knew it belonged to “You didn’t let me finish my scary and dramatic monologue.”

“There’s no way I can let you get away this easy,” the blonde grunted.

He went forward to Neil and, surprisingly, the Fiery soldiers who had previously been standing between Andrew and Tetsuji also advanced and tried to stay between them. It was a shock to realize that they did this because they considered Andrew a threat to Neil. It really was.

“Um, it's okay…” The auburn-haired man murmured, trying to cross between the bodies in position and reach Andrew.

The blonde promptly grabbed his arm and then his hip, in the two places where he was injured. He looked at him with a sharp, reproachful look.

“What were you thinking?” Andrew asked.

“Protect you, of course,” Neil shrugged, “Let's not talk about this right now, can we? We just killed the four corrupt leaders of an entire society, and I think we owe some explanations just to begin with. Also, as far as I know, there are a group of other Spirits trapped in this castle, and they urgently need to be released.”

Neil, who until then was feeling carried by a violent wave fed by fear, concern, power and pure adrenaline, felt himself descending from that high and settling in a position where thoughts were better organized inside him. He turned to the group of soldiers standing a little apart and looked at them steadily.

“You heard me. All Spirits trapped in this place must be released now and distributed among the available rooms, all carefully. Don’t do anything else or touch anything else in the castle. Let the other soldiers know and, Kevin,” Neil called and turned to look at him, “you're going to lead them all. I will not give any other orders until I have a team of Spirits together with me. Our focus at the moment is to control the situation internally and deciding how to proceed from here before alerting the other people in Thaekar. Do whatever is necessary to take care of everything they need during recovery, but don't draw any more attention to this. This situation will be resolved little by little, the damage caused by the Moriyama family is too extensive for it to be done any other way and I will not do it  _ alone _ in only a single day.” He turned back to stare at every person in the room. “One more thing, I'll be grateful if you can keep your distance from the planning room, at least for now,” Neil continued to pour out information, and on some level, he had a vague sense of how intimidating it all sounded. “You may disperse.”

The soldiers saluted quickly and looked at Kevin, who nodded and motioned for them to follow. The moment they walked through the door and left the place, Neil let out all the air he didn't even know he was holding. His shoulders slumped and he rubbed his eyes. It was like a feeling of temporary relief.

Hands held him and made him look up to find his favorite golden eyes.

“I got you and I’m not letting go,” was all Andrew said, and Neil let himself sigh heavily again as he leaned his head on Andrew’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “It looks like you need to breathe now, so I can wait to shout about the fucking spell with you later.”

Neil chuckled. “You are absolutely horrible.”

Andrew snorted and wrapped his arms around Neil's waist, letting him lie flat against his shoulder while the blonde pressed small kisses to his temple, close to the line of messy auburn curls.

~~~~~~

_ Seven months after  _

**_Andrew_ **

Andrew was directed by a guard to the main garden in the center of the castle, where Neil was said to be. Indeed, as soon as he opened the big door and stepped out into the open space, he spotted the auburn haired man walking slowly towards a bunch of flowers.

Neil wasn’t alone. In addition to the other two people located at the other end of the garden, he was also accompanied by Fakeen, who followed his pace as she walked beside him. He was partially metamorphosed like a fox, a red fox just like his familiar. Thin face, larger blue eyes, pointed ears — and reddish at the tips —, more voluminous hair, the appearance of a pair of fangs, all this plus the tail that developed like a new bone in his lower back. Andrew had already seen him as a fox a couple of times, because Neil seemed particularly fond of this animal.

Andrew did nothing but watch from a distance while Neil gestured and casually chatted with the vixen by his side, until they finally got close enough to the flowers and he moved his hands to bring water to the plants and take care of each one attentively. Fakeen just sat quietly beside him and watched the whole process.

Andrew wasn’t concerned that someone might catch him watching one of the Spirits so steadily. By now, almost everyone in the castle was used to his constant presence and no one really cared.

But he didn't come to just look, though, so he started walking towards Neil.

The Auburn-haired one perceived the approach easily — just like Fakeen — and turned to meet Andrew's gaze midway. Funny enough, his tail started to swing happily and he blushed violently when he realized it, rushing to grab it and hold on tight, which didn’t exactly change much, because the tail flicked and escaped his grip.

Foxes are not capable of showing emotions like humans — no animal is —, but Andrew was sure Fakeen obviously didn't follow that rule, because when he looked at her, he almost certainly could see the vixen rolling her eyes. Or something like that.

She wasn't exactly a fan of Andrew stealing some of Neil's attention for him.

When he got close enough, he ran his hand through Neil's hair and stroked it carefully, before weaving his fingers through the strands and pulling him in for a quick kiss. Neil’s tail swang even more and, clearly embarrassed, he undid the metamorphosis and lost his fox features.

“Um, hi,” he said, blushing.

“Hey,” Andrew nodded affectionately. “Did you come to water the flowers? I can wait for you to finish.”

“No, it's okay. I can do this while we talk,” Neil smiled.

“Okay. How are the damage repairs to Thaekar and Clarenby going?”

“You ask me that every time you come here from Wymack’s house, and you always come every two weeks and then spend two full weeks at the castle. I know you already know everything you have to know, so I really don't understand why you always ask the same question.”

The vixen yelped blatantly unimpressed.

Neil laughed and raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Fakeen said you like to hear me babbling.”

“No, I don't,”  _ Yes, he did, _ and Andrew fought himself for thinking that. “If you're not going to answer, whatever.”

Sighing, Neil poured some more water on the plants. He broke a stupid smile on his face and rolled his eyes.

“Okay then. Let me see... At the present time, all the Spirits are almost perfectly recovered, except for some who have not yet managed to fully recharge their magic, but this is not being a problem, especially now that we have reconnected with Clarenby, and the magic is flowing again and covering Thaekar lands little by little. Also, we are already in sufficient condition to redecorate the entire castle. Moriyamas had a terrible sense of decoration, the whole place looks like the inside of an oven or a snake hole…”

“Not surprising.”

“...Once the Spirits started to wake up, I was able to let them all know about the situation. We decided together what to do and I arranged everything while giving them space to proper rest. Gradually, the information about the fall of the Moriyama family reached all Earthies, Airies and Fieries who were not at the castle on the day it all happened, so it spreaded everywhere quickly enough. It was a bit of a stroke of luck that everyone still trusted us even after knowing exactly what had happened, but it's a good thing that it happened, because it streamlined the repair process. Anyway, this part is already settled, and with a nice stable relationship between us and the rest of society, other things went much more easily. 

“But, of course, there were some changes that we had to make and to notify everyone beforehand, such as the removal of all restrictions imposed by the Moriyama, including the Airies barrier between land and water. Speaking of them, I found out who my father was, only to find out that he had been dead for a few years, but while he was alive he was the head of the alliance between the Airies and the Moriyama family. Then no. I don't need any more information about him, thanks. 

“Anyway, when the barrier fell, I reopened the portals that were used to cross between Thaekar and Clarenby, you know, to avoid the pits that divide the land and the sea, and went with Stuart to the Wateries to settle things. It wasn't easy, obviously, but we are making slow progress and reconciling with them, so that’s how the magic is flowing again, as I said before. And Kevin has become the general of the Fiery army, the position that used to belong to his mother, and is doing a great job as such, which is good because I needed someone reliable in the position.”

Neil took a deep breath and turned his attention away from the flowers, facing Andrew.

“That’s it, I guess? But you already know everything, so it's okay if I miss some details,” he said, patting Andrew's cheek.

Andrew hummed in agreement and allowed it when Neil lowered his arm and intertwined their fingers. They walked through the garden with Fakeen faithfully following behind.

There was this place where they always sat, under a tree and hidden enough for them to have at least a little privacy in the completely open place. Neil guided them there and they sat down together.

“Since you mentioned Kevin, do you know that he and the other two fools are going to have a bonding ceremony?” Andrew asked once he settled with his back against the wood.

Neil laughed and changed his position to press his back to the other man's chest, sort of lying against his body, safe in the middle of Andrew’s legs and arms.

“Are you seriously asking me that? The event is tonight, and  _ you _ told me that. Like, about three weeks ago.”

“Just to make sure you haven't forgotten. I don't trust those two brain cells you have there,” Andrew shrugged.

“Fucker,” Neil murmured affectionately. They remained silent and resting lazily in the sunlight. “Do I still have the honor to accompany you, Minyard?”

Andrew did not answer anything, just frowned at Neil, which in this case was the equivalent of a positive response, because if it were the other way around he would be more than happy to make the other man quite aware of it.

Neil moved his fingers and absently made flowers appear on the grass, then removed some of them and floated them until they rested on top of Andrew's head, forming a flower crown over the blond strands. His eyes were slowly growing heavy until he heard a huff and looked at the face above him.

“Don't sleep here, I won't carry you to the room,” Andrew said, with a frown.

Neil inevitably broke into a lazy smile. “I remember another time when you said the same thing.”

“Shut up. I'm serious.”

“I'm not going to sleep, relax,” he moved his fingers a few times and seemed satisfied with the result of the flower crown. “Now you look quite adorable.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Okay, get up, let's go to the bedroom. Before you sleep, preferably.”

Neil grunted but obeyed. They walked with their arms curled up to Neil's suite and the last one collapsed on the bed the moment the door was closed. Andrew just whispered “Idiot” as he closed the curtains.

**_Neil_ **

When Neil woke up, it was to the very distinct sound of an argument.

“Kevin shut the fuck up, turn around and walk out of this room. Seriously,” he heard a voice whispering quite angrily.

“But I need to talk to him,” someone else — probably Kevin — replied.

“He's asleep, I'm sure you can see it. And do you know what it usually means when someone sleeps in the middle of the day? Exactly, that they're  _ pretty tired _ . So take your stubborn ass and  _ walk. Out. Of. This. Room. _ ”

“Andrew, you’re literally hugging him like a baby, believe me,  _ he will _ fall asleep again the moment I turn my back after our conversation.”

“You should be a long way from here, organizing the stupid ceremony.”

Kevin shrugged. “Jeremy is doing that.”

Andrew — whom Neil found to be the owner of the angry whisper — was about to chop up again, but Neil shifted in his arms and grunted, “I already woke up.”

If it were possible, the look Andrew gave Kevin now was even more unnerved.

In the end Kevin didn’t want much more than to ask Neil for help in receiving the Wateries during the ceremony, because even though Jean was a Watery, he was still a bit disconnected from his element and his counterparts for too long to be able enough.

Neil obviously agreed and said he would prepare to arrive at the event early — which made Andrew roll his eyes and grumble, because, consequently, he would also have to arrive earlier.

After Kevin left, they just killed time mostly by gossiping about Wymack and the rest of the house people, who Neil hadn't seen in so long. It was nice and calm, just as Neil knew he could always expect from Andrew.

The place that Jeremy, Jean and Kevin had chosen to hold their ceremony was quite interesting, to be honest. It was an extensive point near the Thaekar border that worked as a point of union between Fiery and Airy territory, so a temperature conflict was common in the region.

They had found a beach that was on that same dividing line, so there was a piece of the Watery representation as well. It was perfect for them, but Neil didn't even want to think how they had found exactly that place, which was literally just one in the middle of a vast expanse of land.

Jeremy did a great job in the place, enough to make Neil's face break into a smile as he approached. There were flowers floating and dancing everywhere, streams of luminous water snaking through people — which, by the way, were slowly arriving — and a small atrium was occupied by a band that played soft and pleasant music while many more flowers were visible anywhere possible.

Neil did his part and guided everyone arriving from Clarenby, greeting and even  _ trying _ to keep up when, eventually, someone tried to start a conversation.

Jeremy, Jean and Kevin were all there, but they couldn't see each other yet because of the restrictive spell Neil put over them — “I swear it will be even more exciting if we do this,” Jeremy had said, while trying to convince his two boyfriends agreeing to this, which, of course, they didn't do with much appreciation — and that was most likely getting Kevin on edge.

Every time he heard Jeremy or Jean's voice but couldn't see them, he would literally growl and that was being the highlight of Andrew's fun during the night, because he purposely insisted on bringing the three together in any way he could.

When everyone finally arrived, Renee, sent by Jeremy, warned that the ceremony would take place before dinner, so everyone should position themselves near the  _ central arch _ , which had been positioned on the sand, very close to the sea water.

The central arch was this long curved item made of thorns and flowers, which had a thin mast at the center of its curvature, from which several colored ribbons hung. At the time of the ceremony, the twelve people — four for each member of the relationship — chosen as active witnesses would have to hold a ribbon each and organize themselves in an open circle around the central arch. Everyone else present, also known as the passive witnesses, had to stay behind them. Since Jean and Jeremy didn't have exactly enough people to fill in the amount — since they were locked in Evermore Castle for many years —, they agreed that the list of active witnesses would be composed of Dan, Aaron, Andrew, Neil, Matt, Renee , Allison, Nicky, Wymack, Abby and just Laila and Alvarez for Jeremy — Seth, obviously, was truly mad for being left out.

The twelve people took their tapes and spread out in an open circle around the arch. Betsy gathered the three men at the center of it all and smiled as she walked away to join the crowd of passive witnesses. Kevin, Jean and Jeremy were clearly confused by not being able to see each other, so Neil undid the spell and giggled when Kevin's eyes widened when Jeremy inexplicably started to cry in the most affectionate way possible. Jean was just a little startled.

The ceremony started when Jeremy managed to calm down, and they just exchanged simple promises and vows.

“That may sound cheesy for you two thick shells, but I am proud that we’ve made it this far. I would not give you up for anything, and although this is more than obvious, it’s good enough to repeat whenever I have the chance. And I intend to have several chances. Forever, preferably,” Jeremy chuckled, before holding each boyfriend's hand and looking down at that part where their skins met. “I am proud not only of our relationship but also of you two as individuals. I feel completely ridiculous saying this out loud now, especially in front of so many people, but it's the truth so I think I just need to keep saying,” his voice started to break and Jeremy blinked a few times. “Jean, I'll never  _ ever _ get tired of appreciating your courage, my brave boy. After all, you're still here, standing up, about to promise to spend the rest of your life with these two fools... Me and Kev didn't do it,  _ you _ did. Brave doesn't seem like a big enough word to describe you, but it will have to be,” he smiled. Kevin also took Jean's other hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “And Kevin, you are such a strong point of security that it makes me question whether I really am the Airy of this relationship. You made sacrifices, even if you didn't see them, and you more than once showed that despite your  _ impossible _ narcissism, you are not selfish  _ at all _ ,” everyone present laughed at that. “I love you both, I will always love you both and as long as I breathe, I will choose as many times as possible to be by your side.”

Neil smiled when, surprisingly, Kevin was the one who pulled the other two into a tight hug. Andrew, beside the auburn-haired one, snorted but didn't take his eyes off the scene, and that made Neil smile even more.

“I love you too, and I'm not planning on giving up on that,” Kevin said.

“I love and _ thank _ you,” Jean added.

They held hands again and squeezed  _ tight _ .

“ _ Amor vincit omnia. Ego vobiscum, dum spiro _ ,” they said at the same time.  _ ‘Love conquers all. I am with you, as long as I breathe,’ _ Neil repeated that phrase mentally.

When a bright red line appeared around the three of them, closing a circle, it was the moment when the ceremony was actually made official. Passive witnesses applauded and cheered, while the twelve people gathered in a circle tightened the grip on their ribbons and felt the soft fabric heat up before bursting into flower petals and falling slowly. This was a good sign, since petal-pleasing ceremonies were a sign of positive blessing. Jeremy, Kevin and Jean knew this, so they smiled.

They all dispersed before the three really moved away from the central arch, where they were whispering to each other and exchanging ridiculously passionate smiles.

Neil held out a suggestive hand to Andrew and waited while he considered, until he finally accepted the offer and intertwined their fingers.

“Can we escape just for a little bit? There are a lot of people here and my social battery needs a recharge,” Neil asked.

Andrew nodded and pulled him to go very close to the sea water, and they walked further until they found a high rock where they could sit. Neil simply rested his head on the other man's shoulder and played with their fingers. It was pleasant, the sound of the ocean waves breaking and the wind whistling around them, so he allowed himself to lose a little in his own thoughts while they were alone.

Not for the first time that night, Neil was surprised. In his mind he was just calm, not nearly as distressed as he was many months ago, when he first dramatically arrived in Thaekar. Things now were either fine or about to be fine, and that was satisfying.

He was still in a great process of understanding about his own role within this whole Nature thing, but he had made great strides and needed to recognize it, so recognize he would.

“Do you think this is what she wanted?” Neil asked, squeezing Andrew's fingers with his own. “Mary, I mean. My mom.”

Andrew hummed, and did not turn to look at him when he said, “We have no way of knowing it.”

Neil was unable to contain a laugh. “This is obvious, could you give me a different answer?”

“I'm just being realistic,” Andrew shrugged. “We have no way of knowing her opinion about it all, that is a fact. However, if everything Stuart said counts for something, you have achieved the goal she wanted, and you both will  _ not _ be running away for the rest of your life and also embraced all your shit as Spirit. Don't mind irrelevant things like wondering how she felt about this besides that.”

Neil nodded and bit the inside of his mouth while looking at Andrew, who seemed unimpressed. He smiled after a moment of thinking about Andrew’s words, that were always this comforting kind of truth that Neil learned to love. “Thank you.”

He closed the distances between his faces and gave Andrew a tender kiss, holding his cheek with the unoccupied hand.

They took the time to just stay by the beach, and no one came to bother them, just as they didn't care about the rest of the world.

There were only two bodies entwined and sitting on a rock, and nothing could stand in their way.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I could never ever forget to thank my beta, gab, as always. she really put up with a lot of shit during the process of writing this story, and I owe her a lot for that. thank you, [gab](https://twitter.com/fierrchase?s=20)
> 
> one more time, huge thanks to [leh](https://twitter.com/lovereignspn?s=20), who drew the map at the beginning of the story. I almost cried when I saw it the first time (and all the others afterwards) because it was very much as I imagined Thaekar to be
> 
> lastly, thank you also to everyone who encouraged me as a fuck and made this story come out


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